Putin boasts Ukraine gains, says Russia ready for missile ‘duel’ with West

Putin used the tightly choreographed event, which lasted over 4 hours, to reinforce his authority and demonstrate a sweeping command.

President Vladimir Putin boasted that his military operation in Ukraine has strengthened Russia and denied that the ouster of key ally Bashar Assad in Syria had hurt Moscow’s prestige, as he held his annual news conference and call-in show Thursday.

He used the tightly choreographed event, which lasted over four hours, to reinforce his authority and demonstrate a sweeping command of everything from consumer prices to military hardware.

He claimed that sending troops into Ukraine in 2022 has boosted Russia’s military and economic power.

“Russia has become much stronger over the past two or three years because it has become a truly sovereign country,” he said. “We are standing firm in terms of economy, we are strengthening our defense potential and our military capability now is the strongest in the world.”

Putin, who has held power for nearly a quarter-century and was reelected to another six-year term in February, said the military was “advancing toward achieving our goals” in what he calls the special military operation in Ukraine.

In response to a question about a new hypersonic ballistic missile that Russia used for the first time last month to strike Ukraine, Putin scoffed at claims by some Western experts that it could be intercepted by NATO’s air defences.

He mockingly challenged Ukraine’s allies to a “high-tech duel,” suggesting that Moscow could give advance notice of a strike on Kyiv with the Oreshnik missile and see if the West could protect the city.

“Let them select a target, possibly in Kyiv, put their air defence assets there and we shall strike it with the Oreshnik,” he said with a dry smile. “Let’s see what happens.”