Putin boasts of gains in Ukraine at annual news conference meant to reinforce his authority

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin boasted that his military operation in Ukraine has strengthened Russia and denied that the ouster of key ally Bashar Assad in Syria had hurt Moscow’s prestige, as he took questions at his annual news conference and call-in show Thursday.

He used the tightly choreographed event, which lasted about 4 1/2 hours, to reinforce his authority and demonstrate a sweeping command of everything from consumer prices to military hardware.

Sending troops into Ukraine in 2022 has boosted Russia’s military and economic power, Putin said, adding that if he could do it over, “such a decision should have been made earlier” and Russia could have “prepared for it in advance and more thoroughly.”

"Russia has become much stronger over the past two or three years because it has become a truly sovereign country,” he said. “We are standing firm in terms of economy, we are strengthening our defense potential and our military capability now is the strongest in the world.”

Putin, who has held power for nearly a quarter-century and began another six-year term earlier this year, said the military was "advancing toward achieving our goals" in what he calls the special military operation in Ukraine.

In response to a question about a new hypersonic ballistic missile that Russia used for the first time last month to strike Ukraine, Putin scoffed at claims by some Western experts that it could be intercepted by NATO's air defenses.

He mockingly challenged Ukraine’s 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 them select a target, possibly in Kyiv, put their air defense assets there and we shall strike it with the Oreshnik,” he said with a dry smile. “Let’s see what happens.”

Speaking on a visit to Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to Putin’s comment by asking, “Do you think it’s a sane person?”

Putin calls general's killing a security ‘blunder’

Russia is making steady, if slow, advances in Ukraine, but has also suffered embarrassing setbacks. On Tuesday, Lt. Gen Igor Kirillov was killed by a bomb planted outside his apartment building in Moscow — a brazen assassination claimed by Ukraine that brought the conflict once again to the streets of the Russian capital.

Putin described Kirillov’s killing as a “major blunder” by Russia’s security agencies, noting they should learn from it and improve their efficiency.

Moscow's troops are also battling Ukrainian forces in the Russian region of Kursk, where they have launched an incursion. Asked when they would drive the Ukrainians out, Putin said “we will certainly kick them out” but wouldn’t say how long it would take.

In a flourish typical of the marathon news conferences, he asked members of the audience to unfurl a banner presented to him by marines fighting in Kursk as he spoke about Ukraine.

Open to talks on Ukraine but reiterates Russia's demands

Putin said he was open to possible talks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to negotiate a deal to end the conflict in Ukraine.

“If we meet with Mr. Trump, we will have things to discuss,” he said, without elaborating.

Putin said Russia also is open for compromise in potential peace talks on Ukraine.

“Politics is the art of compromise,” he said. “We have always said that we are ready for both talks and compromises.” At the same time, Putin added that the talks should be based on “the situation on the ground” referring to some of the conditions he previously laid out.

Putin has previously demanded that Ukraine renounce its bid to join NATO and recognize Russia’s gains. Kyiv and the West have rejected those demands.

Putin says he'll ask Assad about missing American Tice

In his first comments on Assad's downfall, Putin said that he hadn't yet met the former Syrian ruler, whom he has given asylum in Moscow, but plans to. He said he will ask him about Austin Tice, an American journalist who vanished in Syria 12 years ago.

“We also can pose the question to people who control the situation on the ground in Syria,” Putin said, responding to a question from NBC’s Keir Simmons, who cited a letter he said Tice’s mother wrote to the Russian leader seeking assistance.

Moscow has sought to establish contacts with the rebels who ousted Assad to secure its diplomatic and military personnel and try to extend the lease on its air and naval bases in Syria.

“If we stay there, we will need to do something in the interests of the host country,” he said, adding that Moscow offered to use its Hemeimeen air base and naval base in Tartus for humanitarian aid deliveries. “What those interests could be, what could we do for them is an issue to be thoroughly examined by both parties.”

But it’s unclear how much influence Russia will have in Syria. Assad’s fall has dealt it a painful blow after Russia fought for nine years to prop him up in the country’s civil war.

Still, Putin denied the events had weakened Moscow, arguing it achieved its goal of destroying “terrorist” groups in Syria via an air campaign launched in support of Assad in 2015. He claimed that rebel groups fighting Assad have changed and the West is ready to establish ties with them.

“That means that our goals have been achieved,” Putin said.

He described Israel as the “main beneficiary” of Assad’s downfall, noting the deployment of Israeli troops in southern Syria and voicing hope for their eventual withdrawal.

He noted the Syrian army offered little resistance to the opposition offensive and said Russia flew 4,000 Iranian troops from Hemeimeem air base to Tehran.

Putin declines to criticize Biden over pardoning his son

Asked about President Joe Biden's decision to pardon his son, Hunter, to spare him a possible prison sentence for felony gun and tax convictions, Putin said he wouldn't criticize the U.S. leader.

“As for Biden, he’s a politician, and it’s always important which side prevails: political or human,” he said. “It turned out that there was more human in Biden. I wouldn’t condemn him for this.”

Putin said Russia shouldn't rush to bury the body of Soviet Union founder Vladmir Lenin, which has been displayed in a mausoleum on Red Square for nearly a century, to avoid splitting society.

Like in previous years, the live show was dominated by domestic issues, with journalists and ordinary citizens asking about soaring consumer prices and mortgages, paltry pensions and a shortage of doctors. Russian state media reported that the public submitted over 2 million questions in advance.

Putin opened the session by saying the economy is on track to grow by nearly 4% this year. He acknowledged that consumer prices are high, with inflation at 9.3%, but insisted the situation remains “stable.”

The show was as much spectacle as news conference as journalists in the hall near the Kremlin waved colorful signs and placards to attract Putin’s attention, many of them acting as proponents of local issues.