Russian President Vladimir Putin has boasted about the economy and hailed his troops’ gains in Ukraine during his annual news conference and call-in show.

Russian President Vladimir Putin put a positive spin on a spate of recent setbacks Thursday, insisting in a marathon news conference that Russia had accomplished its mission in Syria and was winning the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a tart response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual year-end news conference Thursday, hurling a rude epithet at the Kremlin leader in comments online.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday suggested a missile 'duel' with the United States that would show how Russia's new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile could defeat any U.S. missile defence system.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia was winning in Ukraine and wasn't "weakened" by the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a key ally. Russia was negotiating with all major groups in Syria to retain its key naval and air bases in the country,

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has said that the so-called "special military operation" ("SVO") - as Russian propaganda refers to the war against Ukraine - should have been launched even earlier. He made this remark when asked whether he would change his mind if he could return to February 2022.