Watch: Putin answers questions in annual televised press conference

Russian president Vladimir Putin holds a press conference and will answer questions from citizens in a televised event. Putin confirmed on Friday that he would stand for another six-year term.

In 2023, the direct line with the people of Russia and the annual news conference have been merged into a single event taking place in Moscow’s Gostiny Dvor.

http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/72994

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Transcript

Yekaterina Berezovskaya: We have been accepting questions from across the country for precisely two weeks, and we have received an incredible number of submissions. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this broadcast brings together Russia in its entirety. We are in for a direct, honest, and open conversation.

Pavel Zarubin: Yekaterina and I took a very close look at all these submissions by reading thousands of pages and watching so many video messages.

Yekaterina Berezovskaya: I can compare what happened over the past two weeks with holding the biggest national public opinion poll. Pavel and I felt as if we were not just journalists but also pollsters.

Pavel Zarubin: Of course, answering all these millions of questions would be impossible, but there are cross-cutting topics, of course. What were the most popular ones? It goes without saying that the special military operation came on top. We received messages from the service personnel and their family members dealing with payments, certificates, and supplies. We will definitely discuss all this in detail today.

Yekaterina Berezovskaya: As usual, there were traditional – popular – questions about utilities, sports and so on.

So shall we start?

Good afternoon.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.

Yekaterina Berezovskaya: This year, the Russian Popular Front got involved already at the stage of collecting the questions. There is no doubt that all questions and appeals will be processed, and none of it will go unanswered. Activists from the Russian Popular Front have a whole year to do this. And the sharpest, most interesting and topical questions will be asked live today.

Pavel Zarubin: “Yesterday morning, I posted a complaint about not getting paid on the moskva-putinu.ru website, and in the evening the money came in.” Many problems were solved proactively, but there are many more that remain unsolved. And most importantly, we all live in a completely different world now and people are naturally concerned about more than social issues.

Yekaterina Berezovskaya: What time is better than now, two weeks before the New Year, to review the past 12 months’ results? December is always rich in events.

Mr President, last week you announced your decision to run for president. In this regard, what goals do you consider the most important, at home and abroad?

Vladimir Putin: I have spoken about this many times, but it would not hurt to say it once again. For a country like Russia, existence, mere existence, is impossible without sovereignty. Without sovereignty, Russia would cease to exist, at least in the form it exists today and has existed for a thousand years.

Therefore, our main objective is to strengthen sovereignty. But it is a broad concept. For example, strengthening sovereignty on the international stage involves enhancing our defence capability and security on the external contour. It also includes strengthening social sovereignty, which means providing safeguards for the rights and freedoms of our citizens, as well as developing our political and parliamentary systems. And lastly, it includes economic security and sovereignty, as well as technological sovereignty.

I think that right now, to answer your question, there is no need to be specific about all these vectors and avenues, but I am certain that people in this audience and across the country understand perfectly well that Russia would not survive without this. Just like any other country, Russia must assert its financial, economic, and technological sovereignty in order to have a future.

These are the main vectors from a conceptual standpoint.

Pavel Zarubin: Since we are discussing the economy, the fact that the Russian economy has not crumbled under pressure from its so-called former partners surprised many people around the world. However, these former partners have been openly seeking to finish their job by exerting even more pressure, as we have been hearing in their public statements.

How strong and resilient is the Russian economy? What is its margin of safety?

Vladimir Putin: Big enough so that we not just feel confident but also progress.

This margin of safety, as we have said on numerous occasions, but let me say it again, rests on several components.

The first and most important element is the high level of unity in Russian society.

The second element is the stability of our financial and economic system. As it turned out, and this came as a big surprise to our so-called partners and, frankly, many of us, over the previous decades Russia has accumulated a sufficient margin of safety and stability in finance and the economy.

And the third element is, of course, the growing capability of our security component, that is, the army and security agencies.

Yekaterina Berezovskaya: Mr President, what specific economic indicators can we be proud of?

Vladimir Putin: You know, I have brought a chart with me, as I usually do. There is nothing we do not know, and I believe the Finance Minister spoke about some figures yesterday. The main indicator of economic growth is GDP, which is expected to have grown by 3.5 percent as of the end of the year. It is a good indicator, which shows that we have recouped last year’s losses (when GDP decreased by 2.1 percent). If it grows by 3.5 percent this year, it means we have recouped the losses and have taken a significant step forward.

Unfortunately, inflation has increased and is expected to reach 7.5 percent as of the end of the year or slightly higher, around 8 percent. But the Central Bank and the Government are taking the necessary action. We can talk more about this, I mean raising the key interest rate and other measures being taken by the Central Bank and the Government. Our expectation is that we will be able to return to our target indicators.

Our industrial output is increasing steadily, at 3.6 percent. I am particularly pleased with the results in manufacturing, where output has grown by 7.5 percent year-on-year. It is a result we have not seen in a long time.

It is especially uplifting to see that investment in fixed capital has risen by 10 percent. What does this mean? The growth in industrial output and GDP are obvious. Plus 10 percent in fixed capital investment, what does it indicate? It indicates there will be sustainable growth in the medium term. Investors provide funding; production will expand; and new jobs will be created. I will talk about the unemployment rate later.

Businesses have added 24 percent in profit, not to mention the banks, which will earn almost three trillion rubles, in fact, over three trillion rubles by the end of the year. Of course, I know that people in the audience and generally across the country will say: banks are rolling in clover and so on. It is true. But it is good news for people who keep their money in Russian banks because it signifies the resilience of the banking system.

Now, real wages will grow by around eight percent after inflation. I understand that it will not be true for everybody but on average across the country, this statistic is accurate. And real disposable income is already on the rise. This indicator depends on more factors so the increase will be around five percent.

I mentioned the unemployment rate. Only recently, we were proud to see it drop to a historic low of three percent. Yesterday, when my colleagues and I were preparing for today’s meeting, we noted that the unemployment rate is now 2.9 percent. It is something we have never seen in Russian history. It is a very good integrated indicator of the economy’s health.

Since I talked about the rise in real income, I should mention that the minimum wage will be increased by as much as 18 percent from January 1. We do not do this very often.

The foreign debt is decreasing. This also indicates macroeconomic stability, financial stability. Government debt has been reduced from US$46 billion to US$32 billion. And private foreign debt has also decreased (our companies are duly repaying all the loans taken from foreign financial institutions) from US$337 billion to US$297 billion. That is, repayment is proceeding at a steady pace, often even ahead of schedule.

And this is an integrated social indicator. We will probably have a lot of social issues to discuss today, but still, there is such an integrated indicator – the growth in life expectancy, something we always talk about and strive for.

Look at the dynamics: in 2021, life expectancy in Russia was 70.06, in 2022 it was 72.73, and in 2023 it is expected to be 74 years. Still, this is a measure of how the state’s efforts in both the economy and social policy are reflected in the most important social indicator.

Pavel Zarubin: The other day you honoured the Heroes of Russia, and we saw you saying that we should save the young men, but we should do it, do it, do it.

For almost two years now, our country has been living under the conditions of the special military operation, and of course there has been a flurry of questions from the public. I will just read out some of them, literally. ”How do you assess these two years?“ ”What is the situation now? What are the dynamics?“ ”The goals and objectives of the operation – are they the same as they were at the beginning or not?“ And of course, the most important thing: ”When will there be peace?“

Vladimir Putin: There will be peace when we achieve our goals, which you have mentioned. Now let’s return to these goals – they have not changed. I would like to remind you how we formulated them: denazification, demilitarisation, and a neutral status for Ukraine.

Look what is happening in terms of denazification. During the negotiation process, there was a certain stage after the drafting of a possible agreement, which was recently mentioned by officials in Kiev, where, in general they did not agree that some kind of denazification was needed, and they said that there was no fascistisation, no growth of such sentiments. How could there not be? When a national hero – a famous, not just a nationalist, but a Nazi – Bandera is elevated to the rank of a national hero, what do you mean, there is not?

And when the head of today’s Kiev Administration in front of the whole world gives a standing ovation to a former SS soldier who directly participated in the Holocaust, in the extermination of 1.5 million Jews in Ukraine, Russians and Poles. Is this not a manifestation of Nazism? Therefore, the issue of denazification is relevant. It is true that during the negotiation process we, our negotiators, were told that in principle they did not rule out the possibility of adopting some legislative acts in Ukraine. That was then, during the negotiations in Istanbul.

Now, as for demilitarisation. If they do not want to reach an agreement, then we have to resort to other measures, including military ones. Today Ukraine produces very little; they are trying to maintain some production, but it is almost non-existent. Everything they get is a freebie, and I apologise for such talk. But these freebies may end one day; in fact, they are already coming to an end little by little. But that is not even the main issue. I believe they will still be receiving these freebies, but they are being destroyed. I will not go into specific numbers for aircraft and air defence systems. They received 400 tanks, around 420 or 430, as promised. By the way, they got everything as promised. Ukraine received everything, and even more than what was promised by the West. But ever since the start of the so-called counteroffensive, we have destroyed 747 tanks. This is as of yesterday evening. We have also destroyed almost 2,300 armoured vehicles of various types. This is what is called demilitarisation. Alternatively, we can agree on demilitarisation and establish certain parameters. We actually agreed on them during the Istanbul talks, although these agreements were thrown out later, but we managed to reach agreement. There are also other possibilities to either reach an agreement or resolve the conflict by force. This is what we will strive for.

Pavel Zarubin: There is a short but important question that many people are concerned about: will there be a second wave of mobilisation?

Vladimir Putin: I understand that this is a burning issue. Look, we had a partial mobilisation, and at that time we called up 300,000 people. By the way, at first there was a lot of irony, many giggles about the mobilised personnel, and silly nicknames given to them. I remember this well. But these guys are fighting incredibly well. There are 14 Heroes of the Russian Federation from among those mobilised, not to mention other medals and orders. If I am not mistaken, there are 244,000 soldiers directly in the combat zone, in the special military operation zone. We formed regiments for equipment maintenance because there are many experts in this field who are in great demand. If I am correct, 41,000 were discharged due to mandatory retirement, health reasons, and so on.

After this, we launched a fairly broad campaign to attract volunteer fighters to sign contracts with the Armed Forces. Our goal was to recruit a little over 400,000 people by the end of the year. As of yesterday evening, I received a report that 486,000 have been recruited, and the number of men who are ready to defend the interests of our Motherland with arms in hand is not decreasing. There are 1,500 volunteer fighters being recruited every day throughout the country. So, together with the volunteers there will be about half a million people by the end of this year. This is just a conventional division into two groups: the contract is signed for two or three years, and the so-called volunteers, although, in fact, they are all heroes fighting for the Fatherland, but they have a one-year contract, which is a shorter period. So, what do we need mobilisation for? There is absolutely no need for it today.

Dmitry Peskov: If I may, I would like to remind everyone that today’s event is a combined format, Direct Line and a news conference with the President, so could we start the Presidential Q&A now?

Lyudmila Kolieva: If you don’t mind, can a young lady from the Caucasus go first?

Dmitry Peskov: Just a second, excuse me.

Vladimir Putin: You see, we have a democracy here. (Addressing Lyudmila Kolieva.) You can say what you wanted to say. Mr Peskov, please.

Dmitry Peskov: Please pass on the microphone.

Lyudmila Kolieva: Good afternoon. My name is Lyudmila Kolieva, I am from North Ossetia.

Mr President, North Ossetia has always defended the interests of our country. Issa Pliev and Hadji-Umar Mamsurov – great commanders and Heroes of the Soviet Union – fought courageously in the Great Patriotic War. And now, people from North and South Ossetia, as well as from other North Caucasus regions, continue to defend the interests of North Ossetia – that is, the interests of Russia.

What I want to say is that a lot of volunteer fighters are involved. We have two volunteer detachments in North Ossetia – Storm.Ossetia and Alania. Today, military personnel who serve under contracts are entitled to numerous benefits and support measures. Will volunteers be able to count on them as well?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Actually, I have looked through the questions coming in, but it really is impossible to even leaf through all of them. How many are there, Dmitry?

Yekaterina Berezovskaya: Over two million.

Dmitry Peskov: Already 2.1 million.

Vladimir Putin: Nonetheless, a few days ago, Mr Peskov brought me a pile this tall, and I looked through them, and there were many questions like yours. I would like to repeat my view, and I am sure that there will be more questions like this. All volunteers who have taken up arms to defend Russia’s interests, who are fighting for it and risking their health and lives, must be ensured absolutely identical conditions.

There have been a few problems, and we are aware of them. Only yesterday, analysing the incoming letters, I spoke about this with the Defence Minister and the Chief of the General Staff. I also discussed this with Ms Golikova in her capacity as the Deputy Prime Minister who leads the social bloc in the Government. We will need to adopt amendments to laws to address specific issues. We may come back to that. I am sure that the State Duma deputies will support them 100 percent; we just need to formulate them correctly.

We will definitely ensure that everyone has the same conditions and receives the same level support from the state.

I know that both Storm.Ossetia and Alania are fighting valiantly. The head of the region also spoke about this and reported to me.

Pavel Zarubin: Can I show you how many questions I have here? These are only those I selected on issuing certificates to veterans proving their status.

I suggest that we hear a question on this topic in a recorded video. Sergei Sobolev from Iskitim, Novosibirsk Region.

Sergei Sobolev: Good afternoon, Mr President.

It is a great honour and privilege for me to submit this question to you from Donbass. I am very close to the frontline right now and can hear the war very well. Here with me I have fighters from the Defence Ministry assault brigade, veterans of the brigade which bears your name. All the men here have been taking part in the special military operation for almost two years now. They have been fighting on the frontlines and are now near Donetsk. They have been highly effective in gaining ground, and the enemy is struggling to hold them back, with its defences cracking at the seams, as they say. Every new day brings new achievements.

Mr President, victory is already within reach, and even the enemy understands this. But when the war ends, there will be a need to provide support for the people who fought in it. Take the veterans – these are people with immense combat experience, who represent the example of true patriotism. They could help educate the younger generation and train a new generation of fighters for the Russian army.

Do you think that it would be sensible to create a military and patriotic educational organisation for our young people? Do you have any plans in this regard?

Vladimir Putin: First, I would like to thank you for what you are doing. This may sound a bit too formal but trust me – I sincerely mean it. The Chief of the General Staff, as well as other commanders have been briefing me on the situation in specific locations. Now that we have the veterans over there, we will have the situation under control, no doubt about that. These simple words offer an assessment of what you are doing, and what you can do and will, no doubt, accomplish on the battlefield.

As for whether people like you can contribute to educating the younger generation, our school students, young people in general, this is something that is extremely relevant. It is obvious and absolutely necessary for any country when it reaches a turning point in its history, as we have today.

Mentioning Bismarck may not be appropriate here, but there was a time when he served and lived in Russia, even if he went on to become an outstanding German leader. He once said that wars are not won by generals, but by schoolteachers and parish priests. He was absolutely right.

Educating young people in the spirit of patriotism – and I use this term in its most positive sense without referring to any form of crude patriotism – is crucial, and we are already moving in this direction. More than a thousand of your colleagues and comrades-in-arms who have completed their service and returned to civilian life are already working in schools or work with children and teenagers in other formats.

We will definitely continue this work and expand our efforts. It is one thing to read a patriotic book or watch a patriotic film, but teaching patriotism through your own example is quite another matter. The best way to do it is by personal example. There is no one better than you for this job.

Pavel Zarubin: We are broadcasting live which means that it goes the way it goes. Go ahead, Mr Peskov.

Dmitry Peskov: Thank you, Pavel.

Vladimir Putin: Excuse me, Dmitry.

“They’re killing the Volga.” What do you mean? What is wrong with the Volga?

Pavel Zarubin: It seems that we will be sticking to this format…

Yelena Berezovskaya: Indeed, the Volga is among the issues mentioned in the messages we have been receiving.

Yelena Usmanova: Good afternoon, Mr President. My name is Yelena Usmanova from Business Online, a business newspaper in Tatarstan.

This year, people living along the Volga region suffered from a disastrous decline in the water levels of the Kuybyshev Reservoir. Throughout the summer, the operator has been releasing water and sending it downstream while arguing that otherwise Astrakhan’s fishing industry would suffer.

Do you think that we need to address the issue of the declining water levels in the Volga? Do you think that the way we approach this issue could cost us Russia’s most prominent river?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: I do hope that this never happens. There is a conflict of interest involving the energy sector and other water users downstream. The energy sector wants to keep water levels at a sufficient level in order to generate enough power along the Volga cascade to meet the needs of industrial users and utilities. Meanwhile, there are water users downstream who want water levels to be high over there. Of course, sailors and ship owners want to ensure that Volga remains open to navigation and the deeper its waterway, the better. We know all this.

Trust me, the Government is working on it and will not let this situation spin out of control. Of course, this issue is real. I do agree with you on that.

Dmitry Peskov: Moving on, there are many questions, and we need to have some parity here.

Vladimir Putin: I suggest that we put Mr Peskov back in charge.

Dmitry Peskov: I can see ITAR-TASS in the middle sector. Go ahead, over there in the first row. Representative of the Kremlin pool, by the way. Go ahead, please.

Yekaterina Korostovtseva: Mr President, good afternoon. TASS news agency, Yekaterina Korostovtseva. We have a question on international matters for you. It has three parts.

What are the prospects, in your opinion, for bringing relations with the European Union back to normal? It has been becoming increasingly obvious lately that the Western countries have grown tired of helping Ukraine. What do you think about this new factor?

I have another question for you. The right has been gaining traction on the European political stage. What do you have to say about this topic and is this a matter of concern to you?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: As for normalising relations, it does not depend on us alone. We did not do anything to sour them; it was them who did it and who consistently tried to push us further back, disregarding our interests.

How did the conflict in Ukraine begin? Let us look back, even though it may take three or four minutes. It began with the state coup in Ukraine in 2014. Before that, we did our best for decades, I repeat, for decades, to develop normal relations with Ukraine, even after the events that amounted to a state coup, when Viktor Yanukovych was prevented from assuming office after he won the [presidential] election in the second round. But they decided to hold a third round. What was it if not a state coup? The [Ukrainian] Constitution did not allow for a third round. It was a gradual coup. But we accepted that.

What happened next? He [Yanukovych] won the next election, and what did our so-called opponents do? They staged a state coup.

Do you see the core of the problem? The problem is, as I have always said and as I am saying today, that despite the current tragic developments, Russians and Ukrainians are essentially one people. What is happening now is an immense tragedy; it is like a civil war between brothers who stand on different sides [of the conflict]. But overall, they are not, to a large extent, responsible for this.

The southeastern part of Ukraine has always been pro-Russian because it is historically a Russian territory. I see a colleague holding up a sign saying “Turkiye.” He knows, and people in Turkiye know that the entire Black Sea region was incorporated into Russia as the result of Russo-Turkish wars. What does Ukraine have to do with that? Neither Crimea nor the Black Sea region has any connection to Ukraine. Odessa is a Russian city. We know this. Everyone knows this. But they [Ukrainians] have concocted some historical nonsense.

Well now, Vladimir Lenin incorporated these regions into Ukraine when the Soviet Union was established. We did not dispute that after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and we were ready to live within that paradigm. However, this southeastern part is pro-Russian, which was important to us. They aways voted for those who advocated a pro-Russian stance in Ukraine’s domestic and foreign policy. On the whole, this suited Russia.

But after the 2014 state coup, it became clear to us that they would use force to prevent us from developing normal relations with Ukraine. They spent $5 billion on that state coup, as the Americans openly admitted, without any hesitation.

In 2014, three foreign ministers from Europe (from Poland, Germany and France) went [to Ukraine] to sign off as guarantors of agreements between the government – President Yanukovich – and the opposition. They agreed to resolve their disagreements peacefully. Two days later, they carried out a coup d’état. Why did they do it? They could have run and won the next election. But no. They wanted it straight away, and they wanted to create a conflict – that is why.

Who did it? Our American “buddies.” And the Europeans, who signed the agreements between the government and the opposition as guarantors, pretended they did not know anything about it. Today, if you ask them in Europe if anyone remembers this – no, they do not. But we have not forgotten and we will not forget.

That, combined with a burning urge to creep up to our borders and drag Ukraine into NATO – all of this has led to the tragedy. In addition, there has been bloodshed in Donbass for eight years. All this taken together has led to the tragedy that we are now experiencing. They forced us to take these actions.

So, as I say, in a situation where the United States conceived and orchestrated this act with Europe standing by and averting its gaze, or playing along and singing along with them, how can we build relations with them in these circumstances? We would – we did not break off any ties – but they pretend they do not know or remember anything. Only two or three times did they mention the Minsk agreements, saying they were not for real and were never going to be implemented. In 2014, they also signed those guarantees, those agreements between the government and the opposition in Ukraine just like that, and immediately forgot about them or threw them away.

Do you see my point? My point is that they have lost their sovereignty to a large extent, as we can see now, and they are making many decisions to their own detriment. To their own detriment! But they do it, nonetheless.

Outwardly, many European politicians may look like General de Gaulle, who took up arms to fight for his country’s interests, who rallied whatever resources France could muster to resist the occupiers. But in reality, they are more like Marshal Pétain – although he was a WWI hero, he became a collaborator and succumbed to the invaders during World War II.

Almost everyone [in Europe] behaves this way, except for a few people. Robert Fico became a new leader [in Slovakia] after the election, and Viktor Orbán in Hungary. I have said many times that they are not pro-Russia politicians, they are pro-national – they are defending their countries’ interests. But there are too few politicians like this; I do not know why they do not exist. Maybe this has to do with Europe’s excessive dependence on the Big Brother – the United States. But we are ready to build relations with them.

In fact, we are ready to build relations with the United States as well. We believe that America is an important country on the world stage. But this absolutely imperial policy the country pursues is bad for them, not even for us. Why? Because the public expects them to act like an empire, and if they agree to compromise on something or concede something to someone, their voters will see this as a failure or a flaw. That may partly be the reason the elites have to act in this way.

As soon as they change on a deeper level, and begin to respect other people, other countries, start searching for compromises instead of addressing their problems using sanctions and military force, which would create the underlying conditions for restoring full-fledged relations. So far, there are no such conditions. But we are ready for this.

Dmitry Peskov: Mr President, not all of our military correspondents are on the frontline. I see Nikolai Dolgachev in the studio. Ask your question, please.

Nikolai Dolgachev, Mr President, good afternoon!

I am Nikolai Dolgachev, Vesti correspondent and now the director of the VGTRK affiliate in Lugansk.

The Lugansk Republic has almost been fully liberated. Peaceful life is being restored, but we are worried about the whole front, knowing what heavy fighting is going on in the south and along the Dnieper. People have even been talking for some time about a certain bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper, in the Krynki township area. What kind of a bridgehead is it and how do we stand there?

And, I would like to ask you an additional question, with your permission. Large-scale work on restoring social and other infrastructure facilities is really going on in the liberated regions that are already a bit further from the front. We see this with our own eyes and life is changing a lot, but many people ask, and I will join them, what is the future of the new regions of our country? What is the goal? What will they be like in our country in several years?

And we know, Mr President, whatever you say will happen, so please tell us what will happen.

Vladimir Putin: It would be good if whatever I say would happen but, unfortunately, this is not always the case. Such is the world’s practice. I think everyone sitting here, listening to us and looking at us has the same experience. We talk about something, we want something to happen, and some things happen and others do not. This is normal, but it is certainly necessary to strive to reach one’s goals.

Now about Krynki. The enemy announced a big counteroffensive but nothing came of it anywhere. The last attempt – at any rate it looks like the last attempt for now – was to break through to the left bank of the Dnieper and ensure the movement towards Crimea. Everyone is talking about this, it is common knowledge, and it is nothing new. What happened in this section?

The Armed Forces of Ukraine focused its artillery shelling on a very narrow section of the left bank. To keep our men alive and not to subject them to excessive risk, not to sustain losses, the military command decided to retreat for several metres (I will tell you and as a military correspondent you understand what I am talking about). They are hiding their personnel in the forest to save it from unnecessary losses.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine walked into this section. It is small – about 1,200 metres long and some 300 metres wide. I do not even understand why they are doing this – they are simply pushing their people into death. The Ukrainian military say themselves that this is a one-way trip. To get the personnel there – about 80 people were there the whole time, but now the number is somewhat smaller – they are using only boats, and the boats are under fire from artillery, drones and other weapons. The sanitary losses among our personnel are two or three people, and there were six wounded three days ago. The enemy has dozens of dead. They were simply caught in a “fire bag.” They are throwing their men into it only for political reasons – I believe it’s just for political reasons.

Where does this come from? One can only guess and speculate. Apparently, it has something to do with foreign travel by Ukrainian leaders to beg for more money to keep the country running, to pay for the military component, equipment, and munitions. It appears that their approach is based on the assumption that as long as they travel and beg for arms, everyone will believe that the “counteroffensive” by Ukraine’s armed forces has at least some chances of achieving success, regardless of losses. They are just being driven out of there; that is all there is to it. They can build bridges and pontoons, but they don’t do this because they know these structures will be destroyed instantly, since they are within our reach. That is what is happening.

Here is what I would like to draw your attention to. These are not just servicemen of the Ukrainian armed forces; they are the elite, the assault squads. There are not many of them, actually. If you tally the losses sustained by the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the past 45 days, you will know how tangible it is. I believe this represents foolish and irresponsible behaviour on the part of the country’s political leaders. But it is up to them.

This is no longer a secret. Some time ago, I told the Chief of the General Staff, “Do not rush to push them out of there.” I will be open about it: it is good for us if they mindlessly continue to send more troops there. This is unfortunate, but that is the logic of hostilities. But they continue to do so, and it is their tragedy, I think. Nevertheless, the Minister and the Chief of the General Staff said, “No, we will continue to gradually narrow down their latitude of movement.” This is what is happening. I think that everything will be over soon.

Now, you asked me about the overall state of affairs on the front. You already know it yourself, you are an expert. By the way, I watch you there and my heart sinks, especially when I see female reporters on the front line. I think maybe we should tell the main channels to remove women from there; it is a scary sight. Well, ok.

You are aware of the situation. Let us be humble about it, but our Armed Forces are improving their position almost along the entire line of contact. Almost all of them are engaged in active combat. And the position of our troops is improving along [the entire line of contact].

Now, about the future of these regions. There are many questions about this coming from the new regions and from other parts of the Russian Federation: what will become of them? Annually, the federal budget provides for over a trillion rubles for the development of these regions and their gradual integration into Russia’s economic and social life.

Of course, the situation in other regions is much better. This is because, for some reason, just like in Crimea, Kiev’s previous authorities never focused too much on these regions. However, over a trillion rubles are invested annually and will be invested in the coming years. Plus, these regions and other regions of the Russian Federation have established twin-region relations and these regions have already invested, I think, about 100–140, around 150 billion. Other regions will chip in and invest about 100 billion more.

Here is what I would like to share with you. Importantly, this year these “new regions” paid 170 billion rubles into the federal budget, meaning that the economy of these regions is recovering and getting back to normal. Of course, much remains to be done, and we will handle it.

Pavel Zarubin: We are working live and there can always be technical nuances. A little earlier, we saw a video question from VGTRK military correspondent Sergei Zenin.

Vladimir Putin: May I?

Pavel Zarubin: Of course.

Vladimir Putin: I noticed some of your colleagues. The person over there has a sign that says “Turkiye.” Let’s hear them.

Pavel Zarubin: And then we will get back to the military correspondent.

Vladimir Putin: Certainly, I promise.

Yekaterina Berezovskaya: Some military correspondents are actually women.

Dmitry Peskov: Please introduce yourself.

Ali Jura: Ali Jura, Anadolu Agency.

Mr President, as a result of Israel’s attack on Gaza, a child dies every 6–7 minutes. Eight thousand Palestinian children and more than 6,000 women have already died. Unfortunately, the UN and world major powers are not able to stop these attacks. Do you think the UN has lost its function?

Also, with respect to Palestine, are Turkiye and Russia working together to ensure peace in the region? What are Moscow and Ankara’s common plans on international and regional issues? Do you plan to visit Turkiye any time soon? Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: First of all, of course, I am watching the developments in Gaza. I will tell you what I think. In general, I agree with you, but it should be noted that President of Turkiye Erdogan is playing a significant leading role in improving the situation in Gaza. He is certainly one of the leaders of the international community who is paying attention to this tragedy and doing everything to change the situation for the better, so that conditions are created for a lasting peace. This is obvious. He is very active in this matter. And God bless him. Because what is happening is, of course, a disaster.

We were just talking about the Ukraine crisis – and we will return to it later. You and the audience here, everybody in the world can see (compare the special military operation and Gaza and you will see the difference): nothing of this kind is happening in Ukraine.

You mentioned the deaths of thousands of women and children. The Secretary-General of the United Nations called today’s Gaza the biggest children’s cemetery in the world. This opinion speaks volumes. It is an objective opinion, what else can I say?

As for the UN’s role, you know, it is nothing out of the ordinary and I have already said that. During the Cold War, there were different forces and different countries that often blocked decisions promoted by other countries. But the United Nations was initially created for the purpose of finding a consensus. Without a consensus, decisions cannot be made. So, nothing out of the ordinary is happening at the UN; it was always like this, especially during the Cold War. There is a reason why Foreign Minister of the USSR Gromyko had the nickname, Mr No, because the Soviet Union very frequently vetoed decisions. It is very significant. When there is a veto, no steps that a country sees as hostile towards itself will be taken. And it is important. It is important to preserve such mechanisms in the UN; otherwise it will simply be reduced to a talking shop as happened during a certain period after World War I.

But it does not mean that we cannot and should not seek these consensuses. We should. We, like Turkiye, proceed from the premise that the UN decisions to create a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem should, after all, be implemented, and this is extremely important. It is necessary to create the foundations for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement.

Now let us talk about plans. President Erdogan and I are in constant contact on these issues, and our positions are very similar. I think that we will manage to meet; in fact, I am planning to do just that. I also planned this quite recently, but I can say – there are no secrets in this regard – that it did not work out on account of President Erdogan’s busy schedule. I was prepared to take a flight to Turkiye, and I told him so, but it failed to transpire because of his busy schedule. He was unable to meet, not me. This happens sometimes. But we continue to have talks and perhaps we will arrange this visit early next year.

And now let us look at our efforts. As you may know, I visited two Arab countries not so long ago and had consultations with our friends in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. We are also in contact with Egypt.

First, it is necessary to keep people in Gaza.

Second, it is necessary to bring humanitarian aid on a massive scale to these people.

When I was on my visit to the Emirates, it transpired that the UAE had opened a field hospital in Gaza, not far from the Rafah border crossing and the Egyptian border. We discussed whether it was possible for Russia to open a hospital of its own at a stadium in the same area. But for this to happen, we need to have consent from both Egypt and Israel. I talked to the President of Egypt, and he is in favour of this idea. I also talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu, and they consulted various armed agencies. The Israeli side believes that opening a Russian hospital in Gaza is not safe.

But this does not mean that we will discontinue our efforts. If today this is not safe and the Israeli side does not support the idea, we nevertheless have agreements with the Israelis, and they asked us to step up our deliveries of medical equipment and medicines, and we will certainly do that. So, we are in contact with all parties involved under the current developments and will work actively on this.

Pavel Zarubin: We would like to say a few words about our brave young women, our war correspondents. They are real reporters. We have a link with Channel One correspondent Valentina Solovyova who is working in the Zaporozhye Region again.

Valentina Solovyova: Good afternoon.

We are visiting the Melitopol Regional Oncology Clinic. Here is one of its wards. Look at the beds squeezed inside. We see three beds here, and another six over there.

Allow me to introduce Konstantin Lakunin, the Head Physician of this Clinic.

Konstantin Lakunin: Good afternoon.

Valentina Solovyova: Mr Lakunin, we can see that you have many patients. What is the situation like with doctors?

Konstantin Lakunin: We have many patients, and, of course, we are hard-pressed for doctors, as everywhere in Russia. However, our situation is perhaps even more dramatic: we are not only short of oncologists, haematologists or child oncologists. Actually, we just do not have them at all, so the clinic has to assume all these functions. We would like to thank the federal research centres that provide clinical and methodological assistance and take our patients for treatment.

Valentina Solovyova: How many patients does one doctor treat?

Konstantin Lakunin: A doctor receives 50 to 60 people every day compared to the standard 30-patient quota. Their workloads have increased by about 100 percent. Doctors at hospitals have similar loads, with one doctor treating at least 20 oncology patients; this also exceeds the standard care quotas by about 100 percent.

Valentina Solovyova: Nevertheless, you continue to develop, and I see that you are receiving new equipment.

Konstantin Lakunin: Yes, we are renovating our surgery ward on a large scale, and we have already received the new equipment for it under the federal programmes. It is already here, including an operating table for the new operating rooms. So, we believe we will see new successes in our work.

Valentina Solovyova: You are facing serious personnel shortages. What is your question?

Konstantin Lakunin: Here is my question and proposal: it would be appropriate to discuss the issue of drafting a special federal programme for attracting human resources to the new regions, to healthcare and social sectors. This might imply housing projects, the provision of land plots or low interest mortgage loans. It is necessary to attract qualified people here through various methods.

Valentina Solovyova: Do you offer competitive wages?

Konstantin Lakunin: Our current wages are very competitive; to be honest, specialists come here and sign up because of the salary. We can’t say that nobody is coming, they do come, but these measures are obviously not enough.

Valentina Solovyova: Thank you very much. So, this is our question.

Vladimir Putin: The question is clear. You know what was pleasant to hear? When the doctor said that we lack professionals, doctors, all across Russia, he said. That is, he considers his region part of Russia. From this point of view, I would like to note this question.

The problem is clear. The proposal to create a special federal programme that would help purchase housing, etc. I do not know whether it is necessary to create a special programme, but I agree that we need to pay attention to this issue. We have preferential two percent mortgage for these regions, it is more than preferential and even better than for families with children overall.

But what is the problem there, as I understand it? The problem is that the preference only works for new housing, and there is not much new housing being built there. So, it is necessary to extend it to the pre-owned property market as well, like in the Far East; it will then work quickly and take effect immediately. This is the first thing.

Second, regarding the creation of additional incentives. If the salary is competitive, as the doctor said, what do we need?

(Addressing the audience and commenting on the poster.) Shumbrat. Shumbrat is “hello” in Mordovian. Yes, I will answer your question in a minute.

So, what is it necessary to do? It is necessary to increase the relocation allowance for participants in the County Doctor programme, like in the Far East. Increase it to two million rubles for doctors, and one million rubles for paramedics. I think this would be a good incentive.

I will definitely discuss this with the Government; the budget has already been adopted but we still can give it some thought and come up with solutions for the short term.

Yekaterina Berezovskaya: Mr President, we see that our colleagues cannot even wait until you finish your answer. Let’s give the floor to…

Dmitry Peskov: Mr President, you said “shumbrat,” right?

Vladimir Putin: Yes, I promised. You are from Mordovia, right?

Dmitry Peskov: Let us give the microphone to the young lady in red, please.

Anastasia Vidyayeva: Mr President, good afternoon.

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.

Anastasia Vidyayeva: I am Anastasia Vidyayeva from the Mordovia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, branch of VGTRK. I represent our multi-ethnic republic.

I want to invite you to visit our pavilion at the Russia exhibition.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Anastasia Vidyayeva: First, I want to thank you for this idea; the feedback is amazing, Mr President. A poll has been held recently: 97 percent of Russians pride themselves [in Russia’s achievements] after visiting this expo. Of course, the regions have a lot to be proud of.

Thanks to your support, Mordovia has been developing innovative production. It includes import substitution, the production of fibre-optic and other cables, as well as pharmaceuticals, and the calling card of Mordovia, our black diamond – fumed oak. We harvest it from the bottoms of rivers and create beautiful things from it.

Mr President, this expo is not only an opportunity to see beautiful things, but also to discuss various issues, resolve issues with the business community, etc. So, I invite you to visit it and I would also want to be there myself. Every girl, even a grown-up girl, dreams of a New Year miracle. So, I think you will not refuse the invitation.

Vladimir Putin: Ok. Thank you very much for the invitation. It is true, Mordovia is a very beautiful republic. I very much like how the local people treat their traditions and their culture, national dress, and the traditions in the broad sense of the word.

As for the regions and the regional part of the exhibition, it is really a success. Regional expos at VDNKh are probably one of the most interesting places for visitors. I agree with you, and I will try to visit the exhibition.

Thank you very much.

To be continued.

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