Putin, Exuding Confidence, Suggests Western Support for Ukraine is Waning

President Vladimir V. Putin on Thursday forged himself as a wartime chief in full management of his invasion and his nation, his confidence on show in a stage-managed, four-hour news convention that underscored the Russian chief’s obvious dedication to outlast Ukraine and the West.

Mr. Putin mentioned his vaguely outlined objectives of the “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine had not modified. He reiterated that he was open to peace talks, however provided no trace of a willingness to compromise. And he boasted that Ukraine’s Western backing seemed to be working dry, an indication of how the deadlock in Washington over extra funding for Ukraine had buoyed the temper within the Kremlin.

“Peace will come when we achieve our goals,” Mr. Putin mentioned. Referring to Western army support to Ukraine, he added: “They’re getting everything as freebies. But these freebies can run out at some point, and it looks like they’re already starting to run out.”

Mr. Putin, who took energy in 1999, spoke at a nationally televised occasion close to the Kremlin that featured two staples of his rule: his year-end news convention, at which a whole bunch of journalists attempt to get the president’s consideration by hollering and holding up indicators; and his annual call-in present, in common Russians attempt to get him to intervene to unravel native issues.

Last 12 months, Mr. Putin held neither occasion, an indication that he had little good news to report after the disastrous starting of his invasion of Ukraine. This 12 months, the Kremlin mixed the 2, turning Thursday’s spectacle right into a head-spinning telecast that alternated between questions from journalists within the corridor and thoroughly chosen notes and movies despatched in by the general public.

For the primary time, Mr. Putin commented on Russia’s arrest final March of Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal who stays in pre-trial detention on espionage prices that he, his employer and the U.S. authorities have vehemently denied. Analysts have mentioned that Mr. Gershkovich’s greatest hope of being launched is thru a prisoner change with the United States or one other Western nation.

“We want to make a deal, but it should be mutually acceptable to both sides,” Mr. Putin instructed the news convention, referring to Mr. Gershkovich and to Paul Whelan, a former Marine and company govt. Mr. Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence on espionage prices that the United States has additionally known as politically motivated.

Mr. Putin spoke simply hours after a Moscow court docket upheld the detention of Mr. Gershkovich with a ruling that may go away the journalist — who already has been held for 260 days — in custody till no less than the top of January. The State Department mentioned final week that Russia had rejected a “substantial offer” that may have freed him and Mr. Whelan.

Throughout the news convention, Mr. Putin sought to look assured and in command. Next spring’s rubber-stamp presidential election, which is anticipated to grant Mr. Putin one other six-year time period, went largely unmentioned, suggesting that the president noticed no want for even perfunctory campaigning. One journalist from the Russian Far East expressed help for Mr. Putin’s candidacy, telling the Russian chief that “you’re in power as long as I can remember myself.”

Here’s what else it is advisable know in regards to the subjects Mr. Putin addressed.

The War in Ukraine

Mr. Putin once more listed “demilitarization” and “denazification” as his objectives for Ukraine — the identical false justifications that he used to launch the invasion practically two years in the past. But Mr. Putin now finds himself able of relative power — and his responses on Thursday underscored that time.

Russian forces fended off Ukraine’s counteroffensive this 12 months and are actually attacking in a number of areas alongside the entrance line, and army manufacturing in Russia is ramping up. The impasse over army support for Ukraine in Congress has additionally made Mr. Putin’s long-term guess that his nation will outlast adversaries seem extra lifelike.

Asked by one of many news convention’s moderators when the battle will finish, Mr. Putin mentioned: “If they don’t want to talk, then we are forced to take other measures, including military ones.” He added that he noticed no want for one more army draft as a result of, he claimed, some 500,000 individuals had signed up for army service voluntarily. “Why do we need mobilization?” Mr. Putin mentioned. “Today, there’s no need for it.”

The Russian Economy

Mr. Putin has made the resilience of his nation’s wartime economic system a significant speaking level in latest speeches. Despite a flurry of worldwide sanctions, Russia’s economic system has regained its prewar measurement and is anticipated to develop by about 3 % this 12 months, as a major improve in army spending stimulates manufacturing, whereas labor shortages pressure wages to rise.

But file state spending has come at a price: Inflation has climbed sharply for the reason that spring, and Mr. Putin acknowledged on Thursday that it may attain 8 % this 12 months. High rates of interest are stifling non-public funding, corporations are struggling to seek out employees and the economic system is turning into extra depending on risky oil revenues.

Underscoring public anxiousness about inflation, one particular person requested the Russian chief what he deliberate to do in regards to the quickly rising costs of eggs. Mr. Putin responded with an off-color joke, an obvious try and undertaking confidence and ease.

The West

The news convention supplied Mr. Putin with foils for one in every of his favourite themes: presenting his international adversaries as hypocritical and decadent.

The outbreak of the battle with Hamas has diverted worldwide consideration from Ukraine. Amid mounting requires a cease-fire in Gaza because the demise toll from Israel’s bombardment of the enclave climbs, Mr. Putin sought to distinguish between the actions of the Russian and Israeli militaries. It’s a declare he has been leveraging to attempt to discredit the West and to realize sympathy world wide.

“Look at the special military operation” — his time period for the battle in Ukraine — “and look at what’s happening in Gaza, and feel the difference,” Mr. Putin mentioned, when requested about Gaza by a journalist. “Nothing of the sort is happening in Ukraine.” (In reality, Russia’s invasion has killed hundreds of Ukrainian civilians.)

Mr. Putin sought to counter Western efforts to show Russia into a world pariah over the battle in Ukraine, presenting himself as a champion of socially conservative causes that resonate with many voters in different components of the world. “In 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,” he mentioned, citing Russia’s “defense of our traditional values.”

He additionally praised Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, seen because the European Union’s most Putin-friendly chief, and predicted that relations with the United States may sometime enhance. “As for the United States, we are ready to build relations with them. We believe that the world needs the U.S.,” Mr. Putin mentioned.

The Scene

There had been about 600 journalists, together with a few dozen Western correspondents, available in Gostiny Dvor, a big occasion area only one block away from Moscow’s Red Square. Mr. Putin additionally took called-in questions from individuals throughout Russia.

In years previous, Russians known as in and requested Mr. Putin about their pensions or native infrastructure issues. This 12 months, the primary 90 minutes of the occasion featured a wounded soldier, two army bloggers and three video questions from occupied Ukraine, underscoring the Kremlin’s want to place the battle entrance and middle for most people.

Ivan Nechepurenko and Anatoly Kurmanaev contributed reporting.