Russia-Ukraine War
Russia-Ukraine War
Russia-Ukraine War
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Speaking on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his reign, President Vladimir Putin delivered a positive and mixed message for New Year’s Eve, one that failed to address losses in Ukraine and inflation at home.
By Anatoly Kurmanaev
Reporting from Berlin
A quarter of a century after coming to power, President Vladimir V. Putin told Russians in his New Year’s address on Tuesday that his country will overcome all difficult situations and move forward.
But he did not say where Russia was going, even as it takes huge casualties in its war in Ukraine, struggles with rising inflation and absorbs diplomatic blows abroad.
Much of his brief speech was characterized by omissions. While on Tuesday Putin revered the country’s “fighters and commanders,” he invoked Russians’ pride in defeating Nazism and declared 2025 “the year of the Defender of the Fatherland,” but did not specify who the fighting country opposes or why.
This is a glaring omission almost three years after his decision to invade neighboring Ukraine. The war claimed the lives of between 150,000 and 200,000 Russian soldiers, reshaped Russia’s economy, and disrupted its standing in the world.
Nor did Mr. Putin address inflation, the main concern of most ordinary Russians, or a host of other economic challenges. And while the speech was notable for marking 25 years since he took power in 1999 — an era in which he cemented his rule over Russia — it contained no hint of Mr. Putin’s vision for the country beyond the broadest platitudes.
“We are sure that everything will be fine,” he said.
Putin’s muddled speech on the eve of Russia’s main holiday underscored the biggest contradiction of his wartime leadership: a preference for mobilizing society and preparing it for a protracted conflict, while maintaining a sense of normalcy in life.
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