Putin, Zelenskyy Hold Respective Press Conferences as Year Draws to a Close

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Facts

  • Addressing his country's board of the Ministry of Defense, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin accused the West, and the US in particular, of causing the war in Ukraine, specifically referencing Kyiv's bid to join NATO. He also referenced Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula — arguing that there would have been a 'bloodbath' if it hadn't done so and that Russia was the only guarantor of Ukraine's sovereignty.1
  • Putin added that after the annexation the US failed to uphold the second Minsk agreement to end the separatist war in Ukraine. While Ukraine at the time claimed Russia never pulled its troops out of the region, Putin argued he had to 'get involved in order to protect people so that they wouldn't all be exterminated there,' adding that the US 'outplayed' him because it enjoyed watching the conflict continue.2
  • Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow will 'not leave unanswered the build-up of NATO military potential on our border,' adding that Finland's ambassador had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry and told that Russia will 'take the necessary measures to counter aggressive decisions Finland and its NATO allies.' Putin claimed the West had lied 'shamelessly, at every step' while promising not to expand NATO eastward.1
  • Meanwhile, Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a year's end press conference on Tuesday following failed attempts by both the EU and the US to provide more military funding. Zelenskyy claimed he wants to mobilize between 450K and 500K more troops as the war enters its third year — a decision he said would cost an additional 500B Ukrainian hryvnias ($13.5B).3
  • Zelenskyy also took time to thank his soldiers for fighting as well as tout his country's successful bid to begin EU membership talks. The president further stated that his country is 'fighting for our own future, not for what the Russian Federation wants to choose for us.'4
  • According to the Russian Defense Minister, Ukraine has so far lost more than 383K troops in battle. This follows leaked US intelligence in April that showed Ukrainian deaths had reached between 15.5K and 17.5K Ukrainian deaths. According to a joint investigation by the BBC's Russian Service and independent Russian news outlet Mediazona last month, the names of over 37K Russian fatalities were uncovered.2

Sources: 1CNBC, 2Newsweek, 3Guardian and 4Ukrinform.

Narratives

  • Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by Gmfus. Ukrainians have been risking their lives for almost two years now in a brilliant effort to deter Russian aggression. Just as General Washington and his men did during the American Revolution, Ukrainian forces understand that victory is in sight so long as they have patience and determination. This is not an isolated conflict unrelated to the lives of Westerners — it's a global effort to destroy the encroachment of the single most brutal, authoritarian regime in the world. The West can and should continue to put in the time and money required to, albeit slowly, defeat Putin once and for all.
  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Rt international. Whether their anti-Russia leaders admit it or not, Western populations are growing tired of sending their money to Ukraine — which was always the only thing keeping Kyiv afloat militarily. As opposition lawmakers in both the US and Europe refuse to send more aid money, alongside new reports putting Ukrainian fatalities in the hundreds of thousands, Kyiv is running out of reserves. Meanwhile, Moscow has almost tripled defense production, thus placing itself in a far better position should Ukraine foolishly decide to continue fighting at the behest of its Western masters.

Predictions