APTOPIX Russia Putin

President Vladimir Putin has emphasized that Moscow’s troops are advancing across the battlefield in Ukraine and has voiced confidence that the Kremlin will achieve its goals militarily if Kyiv doesn't agree to Russia’s conditions in peace talks. Speaking at his tightly orchestrated annual news conference Friday, Putin declared that Russian forces have “fully seized strategic initiative” and would make more gains by the year’s end. In the early days of the conflict in 2022, Ukraine’s forces managed to thwart an attempt by Russia’s larger, better-equipped army, to capture the capital of Kyiv. But the fighting soon settled into grinding battles, and Moscow’s troops have made slow but steady progress over the years.