Putin challenges the West to a ‘high-tech missile duel’

Vladimir Putin has suggested Russia might give the West advance notice of a future hypersonic missile attack to see if Ukraine’s allies can ‘stop it in time’. During his stage-managed news conference and call-in show, Putin discussed the ongoing Ukraine war. He has mockingly challenged Ukraine’s Western allies to a ‘high-tech duel,’ suggesting that Moscow could send out a warning ahead of a future strike on Kyiv using the Oreshnik missile. The smirking leader said: ‘Let’s see what happens.’ Putin has claimed Russia’s use of the Oreshnik was a response to the West granting permission for Kyiv to use their longer-range weapons for strikes on Russia. The shocking challenge to the West comes after Putin said his military was ‘advancing towards achieving our primary goals’ in Ukraine.

‘The situation is changing radically, we are advancing along the entire front line,’ he said at the conference broadcast live by state-controlled TV stations across Russia’s 11 time zones, attended by journalists from the country’s over 80 regions. Asked when Russian troops will drive Ukrainian forces out of that region, Putin responded that ‘we will certainly kick them out’ but would not say when. He also pledged to restore the infrastructure damaged by fighting. Putin, who has held power for nearly a quarter of a century, hinted at the end of the Ukraine war being near about a month before Donald Trump was inaugurated as US President. Trump has vowed to end the war in Ukraine and a proposal, outlined by three of his staffers, said his plan would involve an 800-mile demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine. It would mean that Russia would keep its territorial gains made in Ukraine with the current border frozen in place.

Putin’s statement at the conference today could indicate that he is preparing to spin the proposed peace deal he might soon be forced to agree on into a victory for Russia. Putin also admitted that he could not say when his army would regain full control of the western Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a shock offensive in August. ‘We will absolutely kick them out. Absolutely. It can’t be any other way. But the question of a specific date, I’m sorry, I cannot say right now,’ Putin said in a televised end-of-year press conference after being asked whether Kursk would be liberated. Putin went on to threaten more strikes on Ukraine with the missile and he even issued a warning that it could also be used to target military facilities of the countries that allowed Ukraine to use their missiles for attacks deep into Russia.

Russia fired the nuclear-capable hypersonic missile at Dnipro in Ukraine on November 21 in what was described as a combat test. Footage of the attack caused alarm around the world, although it resulted in almost no damage to the Ukrainian defense plant it targeted because the Putin missile was not fitted with live warheads. The Russian despot also acknowledged concerns over high inflation, but insisted the economy was ‘stable’ in the face of external threats. Russia’s central bank is set to hike interest rates on Friday in its latest attempt to deal with the pace of price rises amid the military offensive on Ukraine.

‘With the economy as a whole, the situation in Russia is stable, despite external threats,’ Putin said at a televised end-of-year press conference. However, he added: ‘Inflation is a worrying signal. The thing that is unpleasant and bad is the rise in prices. But I hope that if macroeconomic indicators are maintained, we will be able to cope with it.’ Russia officially targets inflation of 4.0 percent, though prices have risen significantly faster since February 2022, when Moscow ordered troops into Ukraine. Russia has massively ramped up spending on the military offensive, while hundreds of thousands of men have been drafted into the army, hired by arms producers or fled the country.

That has triggered deep labour shortages, while the high borrowing costs have frustrated business leaders, including those at state-run businesses and close to Putin. The Kremlin leader said Russia had grown faster than the eurozone over the last two years. The tightly choreographed conference has been heavily dominated by domestic issues in the past years. Most journalists and ordinary people calling the studio ask about road repairs, utility prices, house maintenance, medical services, government subsidies for families and other economic and social issues.

Journalists from the country’s over 80 regions wave colorful signs and placards in the hall near the Kremlin as they try desperately to attract Putin’s attention. Russian state media reported that ordinary citizens submitted more than 2 million questions ahead of the show. Questions about Russia’s military action in Ukraine and soaring tensions with the West are expected to be an important part of the show. Putin, who has held power for nearly a quarter-century, has vowed to bring what he describes as the ‘special military operation’ to a victorious end and boasted about Russia’s battlefield gains this year.

But just two days before Putin’s news conference, a senior Russian general was killed by a bomb outside his apartment building in Moscow. The brazen killing of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, claimed by Ukraine, brought the nearly 3-year-old conflict once again to the streets of the Russian capital. Putin has declared that last month’s strike on Ukraine with a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile was a response to Western allies’ permission for Kyiv to use their longer-range weapons for strikes on Russia.

He threatened that Moscow could launch more strikes on Ukraine with the new Oreshnik missile and warned it could also be used to target military facilities of the countries that allowed Ukraine to use their missiles for attacks deep into Russia. Putin has said that Moscow stands ready for talks on a peaceful settlement to the conflict but reaffirmed his demand that Ukraine must renounce its bid to join NATO and recognize Russia’s gains. Ukraine and the West have rejected those demands. The Russian leader’s comments will be closely watched for any signs of a shift in his bargaining position ahead of the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to negotiate a deal to end the hostilities.

Putin could also comment on the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who he has offered political asylum. Assad’s demise has dealt a painful blow to Russia, which launched a military intervention in Syria nine years ago to prop up Assad’s government amid a civil war. Moscow has quickly sought to establish contacts with the victorious rebels to secure its diplomatic and military personnel in the country and try to extend the lease on its air and naval bases in the country.

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