Wars 2022 02/24 Monitoring Russian and Ukraine War.

[Saif]

Russia's Putin, in New Year address, voices confidence in victory in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual televised New Year's address to rally his troops fighting in Ukraine, saying he believed in them and in victory in a war that he has framed as part of an existential struggle with the West. US President Donald Trump is trying to broker an end to the

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Russia's Putin, in New Year address, voices confidence in victory in Ukraine

REUTERS
Published :
Dec 31, 2025 23:58
Updated :
Dec 31, 2025 23:58

Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Deputy Minister of Defence and Chair of Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation Anna Tsivileva in Moscow, Russia, Dec 30, 2025. Photo : Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS

Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual televised New Year's address to rally his troops fighting in Ukraine, saying he believed in them and in victory in a war that he has framed as part of an existential struggle with the West.

US President Donald Trump is trying to broker an end to the nearly four-year-old conflict, Europe's bloodiest conflagration since World War Two, with both sides' negotiating stances still far apart.

Dressed in a black coat, Putin - whose forces are advancing slowly but steadily in Ukraine - spoke about Russia's destiny and the unity of its people, which he said guaranteed the sovereignty and security of the "Fatherland".

He paid tribute in particular to his forces fighting in Ukraine, calling them heroes.

"Millions of people across Russia — I assure you — are with you on this New Year's Eve," said Putin.

"They are thinking of you, empathising with you, hoping for you. I wish all our soldiers and commanders a happy coming New Year! We believe in you and our Victory!"

His speech, which was first broadcast in Russia's far east, came as Russia released video footage of what it said was a downed drone, presenting it as evidence that Ukraine had tried this week to attack a presidential residence. Kyiv has dismissed Russia's allegation as a lie designed to derail peace talks.

In another video released on Wednesday, Russia's top general told troops to keep carving out buffer zones in Ukraine's Sumy and Kharkiv regions and said Moscow's forces had advanced faster in December than in any other month in 2025.

Reuters could not verify his battlefield assertion.​

 

[Saif]

Zelensky says deal to end war '10 per cent' away

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday his country was "10 per cent" away from a deal to end the war with Russia, but cautioned that the most important issues were unresolved and warned against rewarding Moscow. US-led efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II...

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Zelensky says deal to end war '10 per cent' away

AFP Kyiv, Ukraine
Updated: 01 Jan 2026, 09: 56

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky talks during a media conference after a meeting of the 'coalition of the willing' international partners on Ukraine in London on 24 October, 2025. AFP

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday his country was "10 per cent" away from a deal to end the war with Russia, but cautioned that the most important issues were unresolved and warned against rewarding Moscow.

US-led efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II have gained pace in recent weeks, but both sides remain at odds over the key issue of territory in a post-war settlement.

Russia, which occupies around 20 per cent of Ukraine, is pushing for full control of the country's eastern Donbas region as part of a deal -- but Kyiv has warned ceding ground will embolden Moscow.

In his New Year's Eve address, Zelensky said his country wanted an end to the war but not at "any cost", and that any agreement needed strong security guarantees to deter Russia from invading again.

"The peace agreement is 90 per cent ready. Ten per cent remains. And that is far more than just numbers," Zelensky said in the address, posted on his Telegram account.

"Those are the 10 per cent that will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe," he added.

Zelensky's speech came just hours after US officials, including top envoy Steve Witkoff, held a call with Ukrainian and European security advisers on the next steps to end the nearly four-year conflict.

The war, now entering its fifth calendar year, has resulted in a tidal wave of destruction that has displaced millions and left entire Ukrainian cities in ruins.

'Believe in victory'

President Vladimir Putin urged Russians to believe in victory in Ukraine during his annual New Year's Eve address, his fourth since the war began.

The Russian leader has consistently told his citizens that the military intends to seize the rest of Ukrainian land he has proclaimed as Russian by force if talks fail.

Addressing soldiers, whom he called "heroes", Putin said in his address: "We believe in you and our victory."

The Kremlin said this week it would "toughen" its negotiating position on ending the war, after accusing Ukraine of launching dozens of drones at Putin's lakeside residence in the Novgorod region between Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

Moscow on Wednesday published footage of a drone it said Kyiv had sent toward the residence.

Russia has called it a "personal" and "terrorist attack" and against Putin, saying it will toughen its negotiation stance in the Ukraine war talks.

The video, shot at night, showed a damaged drone lying in the snow in a forested area. The defence ministry said the alleged attack was "targeted, carefully planned and carried out in stages."

The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which documents the Ukraine-Russia conflict, said Tuesday it had not seen any "footage or reporting that typically follows Ukrainian deep strikes to corroborate the Kremlin's claims of Ukrainian strikes threatening Putin's residence in Novgorod Oblast".

Putin has not publicly commented on the attack -- aside from the Kremlin saying he had informed Trump about it in a call -- and Moscow has not said where the Russian leader was at the time.

Putin's residences and private life are shrouded in secrecy in Russia.​