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President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is more than three hours into his year-end news conference on Thursday, and has stated clearly that his goals in Ukraine have not changed \u2014 the \u201cdemilitarization\u201d and \u201cdenazification\u201d of the country. He reiterated that he was open to peace talks, but offered no hint of a willingness to compromise.<\/p>\n
Mr. Putin was resuming an annual tradition at a critical moment for the war his forces are waging in Ukraine. Continued support from the United States, Ukraine\u2019s most important backer, has increasingly come into doubt as Republicans in Congress block a White House request for a new aid package.<\/p>\n
The marathon December news conference offers reporters a rare \u2014 albeit stage-managed \u2014 chance to pose potentially tricky questions. Asked about two Americans detained in Russia, including Evan Gershkovich<\/a>, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Putin claimed they broke Russian law but added that \u201cwe want to make a deal\u201d with the United States for their release.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what you need to know about the event and the topics Mr. Putin is addressing.<\/p>\n Mr. Putin is nearing the third year of his invasion of Ukraine in a position of relative strength, and his responses on Thursday underscored that point.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Russian forces fended off Ukraine\u2019s counteroffensive this year and are now attacking in several areas along the front line, and military production in Russia is ramping up. The deadlock over military aid for Ukraine in the U.S. Congress has also made Mr. Putin\u2019s long-term bet that his country will outlast adversaries appear more realistic.<\/p>\n Asked by one of the news conference\u2019s moderators when the war will end, Mr. Putin said: \u201cIf they don\u2019t want to talk, then we are forced to take other measures, including military ones.\u201d He added that he saw no need for another military draft<\/a> because, he claimed, some 500,000 people had signed up for military service voluntarily. \u201cWhy do we need mobilization?\u201d Mr. Putin said. \u201cToday, there\u2019s no need for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Mr. Putin also made clear that he thinks Western support for Ukraine is drying up. \u201cThey\u2019re getting everything as freebies,\u201d Mr. Putin told the news conference, referring to Western arms deliveries to Ukraine. \u201cBut these freebies can run out at some point, and it looks like they\u2019re already starting to run out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Mr. Putin said the Russian government was engaged in a \u201cdifficult\u201d dialogue with the U.S. authorities over the possible release of two Americans detained in Russia \u2014 Mr. Gershkovich and Paul Whelan.<\/p>\n Mr. Gershkovich was arrested last March on an espionage charge that he, his newspaper and the U.S. government have vehemently denied. Mr. Whelan, a former Marine and corporate executive, is serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges that the United States has also called politically motivated.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to make a deal, but it should be mutually acceptable to both sides,\u201d Mr. Putin told the news conference in his first remarks about Mr. Gershkovich\u2019s arrest. He spoke just hours after a Moscow court upheld the detention of Mr. Gershkovich with a ruling that will leave the journalist \u2014 who has been held for 260 days \u2014 in custody until at least the end of January.<\/p>\n Mr. Putin has made the resilience of his country\u2019s wartime economy a major talking point in recent public speeches. Despite a flurry of international sanctions, the Russian economy has regained its prewar size and is expected to grow by about 3 percent this year, as a significant increase in military spending stimulates production, while labor shortages force wages to rise.<\/p>\n But record state spending has come at a cost: Inflation has climbed sharply since the spring, and Mr. Putin acknowledged on Thursday that it could reach 8 percent this year. High interest rates are stifling private investment, companies are struggling to find workers and the economy is becoming more dependent on volatile oil revenues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In a question that underscored public anxiety about inflation, one person asked the Russian leader what he planned to do about the rapidly rising prices of eggs. Mr. Putin responded with an off-color joke, an apparent attempt to project confidence and ease.<\/p>\n The news conference provided Mr. Putin with foils for one of his favorite themes: presenting his foreign adversaries as hypocritical and decadent.<\/p>\n The outbreak of the war with Hamas has diverted international attention from Ukraine. Amid mounting calls for a cease-fire in Gaza as the death toll from Israel\u2019s bombardment of the enclave climbs, Mr. Putin sought to differentiate between the actions of the Russian and Israeli militaries. It\u2019s a claim he has been leveraging to try to discredit the West and to gain sympathy around the world.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at the special military operation\u201d \u2014 his term for the war in Ukraine \u2014 \u201cand look at what\u2019s happening in Gaza, and feel the difference,\u201d Mr. Putin said, when asked about Gaza by a Turkish journalist. \u201cNothing of the sort is happening in Ukraine.\u201d (In fact, Russia\u2019s invasion has caused massive civilian casualties, including thousands in the city of Mariupol.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Mr. Putin also sought to counter Western efforts to turn Russia into a global pariah over the war in Ukraine, presenting himself as a champion of socially conservative causes that resonate with many citizens in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n \u201cIn many cities in Europe and the U.S., not to mention other world regions, a lot of people think that we are doing everything right,\u201d he said, citing Russia\u2019s \u201cdefense of our traditional values.\u201d<\/p>\n He also praised Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, the European Union\u2019s most Putin-friendly leader, and predicted that relations with the United States could someday improve. \u201cAs for the United States, we are ready to build relations with them. We believe that the world needs the U.S.,\u201d Mr. Putin said.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe War in Ukraine<\/h2>\n
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Americans Detained in Russia<\/h2>\n
The Russian Economy<\/h2>\n
The West<\/h2>\n
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Russia\u2019s Presidential Election<\/h2>\n