Russia-Ukraine War
Russia-Ukraine War
Russia-Ukraine War
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Speaking on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his presidency, President Vladimir V. Putin delivered a positive and confusing New Year’s Eve message that failed to address losses in Ukraine or inflation at home.
By Anatoly Kurmanaev
Report from Berlin
A quarter century after coming to power, President Vladimir V. Putin told Russians in his New Year’s address on Tuesday that his country is overcoming all difficult situations and moving forward.
But he did not specify where Russia is headed, even as it suffered massive losses in its war in Ukraine, struggled with emerging inflation and absorbed diplomatic blows abroad.
Much of his brief speech was characterized by omissions. Although Putin on Tuesday venerated the country’s “fighters and commanders,” invoked Russian pride in defeating Nazism and declared 2025 “the year of the Defender of the Fatherland,” he did not specify who the fighting country opposes or for that.
This is a glaring omission just three years after his decision to invade neighboring Ukraine. The war has claimed the lives of between 150,000 and 200,000 Russian soldiers, reshaped Russia’s economy, and upended its standing in the world.
Putin also failed to cope with inflation, the main fear of most Russians, or a host of other economic challenges. And while the speech was remarkable because it marked 25 years since he came to power in 1999, a moment in which he consolidated his rule over Russia: it contained no trace of Putin for the country, beyond the broader topics.
“We are that everything is going to be fine,” he said.
Putin’s confused speech on the eve of Russia’s main public holiday underscored the biggest contradiction of his wartime leadership: the willingness to mobilize society and prepare it for a protracted conflict, while maintaining a sense of normalcy in life.
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