Putin’s confidence upstages Zelenskyy as Ukraine faces uncertain 2024

Russia’s Putin unveils a record war chest as Ukraine’s Zelenskyy struggles to keep his alliance together.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin has committed to spending a post-Cold War record $157bn fighting Ukraine and securing Russia next year – a 70 percent increase on this year’s defence budget.

But Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has failed to secure $61.4bn from the US and $76.6bn from the European Union, among his staunchest allies, riven by internal disagreements over spending.

During lengthy press conferences over the past several days about the wartime issues facing them both, the confidence exuded by Russia’s president clearly outshone the mere faith expressed by Ukraine’s.

A Ukrainian summer counteroffensive that petered out without significant territorial gains has divided allied generals, as Russian forces have in recent weeks crept forward on the eastern front, putting Ukraine back on the defensive.

“Practically, along the entire line of contact, our armed forces are, shall we say, modestly improving their position. Virtually all are in an active stage of action,” said Putin in his annual, end-of-year press conference at the International Trade Centre in Moscow on December 14, departing from his traditionally reserved assessment of the front.