Putin opens his annual press briefing to assert authority

Putin during his end-of-year press conference in Moscow. Pic/AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted about the economy and hailed his troops' gains in Ukraine during his annual news conference and call-in show on Thursday, an event he uses to reinforce his authority and demonstrate sweeping control of the country's political scene. Speaking about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said the military was "advancing toward achieving our goals in the special military operation in Ukraine".

In response to a question about a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile that Russia used for the first time last month to strike Ukraine, Putin scoffed and challenged Ukraine's Western allies to a "high-tech duel", suggesting that Moscow could give advance notice of a strike on Kyiv with the Oreshnik missile "and see if the West could protect the city". "Let's see what happens," he said with a smile.

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