Putin’s Year-End News Conference Set for Friday

Putin to Project Unyielding Stance on Ukraine at News MarathonThe annual news conference sets the Kremlin’s tone for the next year and highlights President Vladimir V. Putin’s grip over Russia.A digital screen in Moscow promoting President Vladimir V. Putin’s year-end televised phone-in and news conference.Credit...Ramil Sitdikov/ReutersDec. 18, 2025, 1:34 p.m. ETPresident Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is scheduled on Friday to hold his annual news conference, an event that is expected to highlight the Kremlin’s determination to continue the war in Ukraine until all of its conditions are met.The year-end hourslong marathon, where both journalists and other citizens pose their questions to the Russian leader, is an elaborately orchestrated television show and a demonstration of how, over the past three decades, Mr. Putin has solidified his position as the ultimate — and perhaps only — decision maker in the country. He is portrayed as personally engaged in everyday issues like leaking pipes in small cities, even as he oversees major matters of foreign conflict.The news conference sets the tone for the coming year, reflecting the Kremlin’s primary concerns and the messaging it aims to send to the world.More than two million questions and requests have been submitted to the show as of Thursday morning, according to a meter on Russian state-run news channel. The Kremlin uses an A.I. model, developed by a state bank, to help sift through them.Some involve seemingly tiny problems. Residents of a small district in the city of Volgograd, for instance, sent a video plea asking Mr. Putin to help them gain access to drinkable water. In St. Petersburg, locals complained about plans to build a highway through a park.Beyond such requests, the Kremlin carefully selects a set of questions that allow Mr. Putin to address the biggest issues facing Russia today, such as the state of the economy and the war in Ukraine.On Wednesday, Mr. Putin indicated that he was not willing to yield an inch to Ukraine and its European allies on his demands. He told top military leadership in a year-end meeting that “if the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means.”Russian troops continue to advance in Ukraine, giving Mr. Putin little incentive to stop the fighting. This week, Ukrainian, European and American officials discussed a peace plan aimed at deterring future Russian attacks. It involved a possible deployment of European forces on Ukrainian territory, something Mr. Putin has already flatly rejected.With European officials deliberating the fate of Russian state reserves frozen after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Mr. Putin is likely to highlight his country’s determination to seize European holdings in Russia. The Russian Central Bank said on Thursday that it would file a lawsuit against European banks in a Moscow commercial court, demanding compensation for lost assets and profits.On Thursday, Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said Russia was waiting to meet with President Trump’s representatives to review amended peace proposals after discussions between Ukrainian, American and European officials.“We are worried that European leaders cannot add anything positive,” Mr. Peskov said in an interview with state television. “It looks like they are consumed by only one thought: How to find money to continue the war.”Ivan Nechepurenko covers Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the countries of the Caucasus, and Central Asia.SKIP