MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday challenged Western powers to a “high-tech duel” in Kiev to test out the military capabilities of both sides.
Putin, speaking at his annual end-of-year news conference, also said he was ready to work with US President-elect Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine that the Kremlin started nearly three years ago.
In one of the most eyebrow-raising moments of the marathon session in Moscow, Putin claimed Western air-defence systems are incapable of intercepting Russia’s new Oreshnik hypersonic missile – and threw down the gauntlet of a duel.
“There is no chance of shooting down these missiles,” Putin said.
If the West had any doubts about the missile’s capabilities, it could name a target in Kiev protected by all available air-defence weapons which would then be targeted by the Oreshnik, Putin said.
This would be an “experiment, a high-tech duel of the 21st century,” according to the Russian leader.
It would then become clear whether Western powers could stop the missile, he said, expressing Russia’s readiness to participate.
Putin was responding to a question from the Russian army channel Zvezda, which had quoted an alleged assessment by Western experts that the Oreshnik – hazel tree in English – could be easily defeated in its initial stages.
Russia first fired the missile, which can in principle be equipped with nuclear weapons, at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in November. However, the damage was minor. The missile did not carry any nuclear warheads.
‘The art of compromise’
Putin said he is also prepared to make concessions over Ukraine in possible future talks with Trump, who returns to the White House on January 20.
“Politics is the art of compromise,” Russia’s long-standing leader said, while not providing any details on issues he could potentially give ground on.
“I haven’t spoken to him for four years,” Putin said of Trump, adding that so far there have been no proposals from Trump’s team for a meeting.
He again accused Ukraine of blocking negotiations to end the war.
Putin, who ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, recalled the failure of an agreement that Moscow and Kiev tried to conclude in Istanbul shortly after the start of the war.
The agreement was ultimately rejected by Ukraine under pressure from the West, he claimed.
Putin: Zelensky is illegitimate leader
Putin went on to claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not a legitimate partner for concluding peace negotiations.
Only the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, and its chairman are now authorized to sign a peace agreement, said Putin.
Due to the ongoing invasion and the occupation of a considerable part of Ukrainian territory, Zelensky has stayed in power beyond what was foreseen during peacetime. He cancelled the presidential election due to be held in 2024, citing martial law.
Putin pledges liberation of Kursk region
Months after Ukrainian troops seized parts of Russia’s southern Kursk region, Putin pledged during the annual question-and-answer broadcast to finally liberate and rebuild the territory.
“Everything will be done,” said Putin, clearly reluctant to give a concrete answer to a local resident who asked when the population could return to their homes and the war damage will be repaired.
He was unable to specify a date, Putin said. “But they will definitely be expelled.”
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been occupying dozens of villages in the region bordering northern Ukraine since the beginning of August.
The leadership in Kiev says the Kursk operation strengthens its hand in future negotiations over ending the war.
Once the region has been liberated, all damage will be assessed, said Putin, assuring that roads and infrastructure would be restored: “Everything will be rebuilt.”
The question-and-answer session for journalists was combined on Thursday with the television programme “Results of the Year,” where citizens can put their own questions to the president.
War continues unabated
As Putin spoke in the Russian capital, reports of front-line violence continued to come in.
A Russian missile attack in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih late Wednesday crippled the power supply in parts of the large city, damaging both high-rise buildings and a hospital, local authorities said.
Russian air defences meanwhile repelled attacks by 84 Ukrainian drones in several regions of the country overnight, the Ministry of Defence in Moscow said on Thursday morning.
In just the southern Rostov region bordering Ukraine, 36 drones were said to have been destroyed. Authorities there said an oil refinery in the town of Novoshakhtinsk was hit by falling debris, causing a fire that was quickly extinguished.
Seoul: North Korean involvement escalating
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said on Thursday that North Korea could send more troops to fight alongside Russian forces against Ukraine.
The NIS has seen signs that North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un is making preparations for the training and deployment of an additional special military unit, the Yonhap news agency reported.
It cited information from a closed-door meeting of the National Assembly’s intelligence committee, which a member of parliament later shared with reporters. No further details are known.
The NIS assumes that at least 100 North Korean soldiers have been killed in the fight against Ukraine and up to a thousand more soldiers have been injured. Kiev and Washington also assume that the North Koreans have suffered high losses.
According to estimates by South Korea and the United States, North Korea has sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia. The Moscow military leadership is said to be using the North Koreans primarily in battles to recapture the Ukrainian-occupied Kursk region.
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