Sawt Falasteen - Putin hails Ukraine gains, threatens more, in annual press conference

As Russia's offensive enters another winter, Putin has spent days telling Russians that Moscow will seize the rest of eastern Ukraine by force if diplomacy fails.

Lanched in February 2022, the Russian leader's assault on Ukraine has become Europe's worst conflict since World War II, killing thousands on both sides.

Russia has since then lived under massive Western sanctions, along with a domestic crackdown on dissent unseen since the Soviet era.

"Our troops are advancing along the entire line of contact... the enemy is retreating in all directions," Putin said at the set-piece event, shown on big screens across Russian cities.

"I'm sure that before the end of this year we will still witness new successes," he added, reeling off a list of Ukrainian cities in the crosshairs of his army.

Reinforced security measures were in place around Moscow's Kremlin and Red Square with some areas closed for pedestrians. Dozens of police cars and special services could be seen in the streets, AFP reporters witnessed.

Putin was speaking as the EU scrambled to help Kyiv avoid a deal pushed by the United States, seen as imposing an effective capitulation on Ukraine, and as the Kremlin seeks to keep Europe out of the settlement talks.

Escalating rhetoric, Putin earlier this week called EU leaders "piglets" and vowed to seize the rest of Ukrainian land he has proclaimed as Russian "by military means" if talks fail.

In Friday's speech, he warned of "severe" consequences if EU powers followed through on proposals to use Russian assets frozen in Europe to fund Ukraine's defence.

In a tightly-controlled TV show, he takes questions from the press and call-ins from people around Russia's 12 time zones.

- No 'surrender' -

The Kremlin said almost three million questions had been filed by citizens ahead of the event.

In the capital, locals voiced hope for an end to the dragging conflict -- but on Moscow's terms.

"I have loved ones fighting in (east Ukraine's) Donbas and I would not want us to surrender positions there," Lilya Reshetnyak, a 55-year-old accountant, told AFP.

"It's the only thing that worries me."

But she also wanted to ask the Russian leader about uncomfortable issues in occupied Ukraine, such as a water shortage.

Moscow has seized swathes of eastern Ukraine and is demanding that Kyiv surrender even more territory for fighting to end, which is unacceptable to Ukraine.

Russia has since summer advanced rapidly on the battlefield, especially in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.

Intense fighting has continued in Ukraine, even as the United States intensifies its separate talks with both sides -- with Moscow, whose troops have the upper hand, insisting it wants a deal before a ceasefire.

US President Donald Trump said recently that Russia has a more favourable negotiating position, hinting that Kyiv should give up land.

The Europeans are worried Trump will force a rushed deal that will cede too much to Moscow.

- Economy, repression -

Putin also downplayed concerns over Russia's slowing economy, which has been on a war footing for almost four years and has prioritised defence over all other sectors.

He said the Russian economy was stable and compared it favourably to sluggish growth across Europe.

Russia has also been living under huge sanctions and persistent inflation. The economy is teetering on the edge of a recession, with growth hovering just above zero.

Criticism of the Ukraine offensive is banned in Russia, and Moscow has punished thousands of its citizens for speaking out against it -- either with fines or prison sentences.

All of Putin's political opponents are in exile, prison or dead.

Putin, a former KGB agent, became the president of Russia after Boris Yeltsin stepped down in December 1999.

L.AbuTayeh--SF-PST