Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday made a rare admission of the failures of his powerful security services in the case of the assassination of a high-ranking general in Moscow organized by Ukraine. He became the head of the chemical and biological weapons division of the Russian troops, Lieutenant General Igor Kirilov. killed by a bomb planted in a scooter on tuesday in moscow, the most daring murder, which was announced by kiev since the beginning of the conflict, took place.
“Our special services missed these hits. They missed those hits. So, it is necessary to improve this work. Such very serious miscalculations cannot be allowed,” Putin said at the final press conference, speaking in front of the front line. attacks in Russia on high-ranking supporters of the Kremlin Russia's war in Ukraine.
Ukraine has been linked to previous attacks in Russia, including the August 2022 car bombing of nationalist Daria Dugina and the April 2023 St. Petersburg cafe bombing that killed prominent war correspondent Maxim Famin, known as Uladlen Tatarsky.
Putin first addressed the topic of Kirillov's murder more than 48 hours after the explosion in a residential area of the Russian capital. In Moscow, questions are being asked about the security protocols of such a high-ranking and public figure who is participating in the military offensive against Ukraine.
Maxim Shemetov/REUTERS
Kiev claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that the explosives were packed in an electric scooter left at the door of the apartment building.
As Kirilov and his assistant left the building, he detonated, killing them both.
A citizen of Uzbekistan, born in 1995, who is suspected of committing an attack, has been detained in Russia, the Investigative Committee reported on Wednesday.
It claimed he said he had been “recruited by Ukrainian special forces.”
Putin called the attack “terrorism” on Thursday.
A source in Ukraine's SBU called Kirillov a “legitimate target” and accused him of mass use of banned chemical weapons on the front line in eastern Ukraine.
Putin says he will meet with Trump “at any time” about Ukraine
On Thursday, Putin said he was ready for talks “at any time” with US President-elect Donald Trump, who has touted his ability to broker a peace deal in Ukraine within hours of taking office.
Trump, who will return to the White House in January, has fueled fears in Kiev that he may force Ukraine to accept peace on terms favorable to Moscow.
Sputnik / Gavriil Grigorov / Poole via REUTERS
At his annual end-of-year press conference, the Kremlin leader said his troops had the upper hand on the battlefield, but was forced to admit he did not know when Russia would retake western Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian troops launched an invasion in August.
The traditional annual question-and-answer sessions, which often last for hours, are very much a TV show, but also a rare setting in which he is on the spot and answers some uncomfortable questions.
Asked about Trump's claims about a possible peace deal, Putin said he would welcome a meeting with the incoming Republican.
“I don't know when I will see him. He doesn't say anything about it. I haven't spoken to him in over four years. I'm ready for that, of course. At any time,” Putin said.
“If we ever have a meeting with President-elect Trump, I'm sure we'll have something to talk about,” he said, adding that Russia is ready “for negotiations and compromises.”
The Kremlin recently welcomed Trump's sharp criticism of President Biden's decision to allow Kiev to use US-supplied missiles to strike Russian territory, a major escalation in the nearly three-year conflict that Mr. Biden's administration said was necessary because that Putin created thousands of North Korean soldiers to strengthen his own ground forces.
Russian troops have been advancing in eastern Ukraine for months, and Putin has repeatedly touted their prowess on the battlefield.
“We are moving towards solving the priority tasks that we set at the beginning of the military special operation,” Putin said, using the Russian name for the conflict. “Our guys are fighting heroically. The capabilities of the Armed Forces are growing.”
Moscow's army advanced in eastern Ukraine in November at its fastest pace since the first month of its offensive in 2022.
But when a woman from the Kursk region asked when residents would be able to return to their homes after thousands of people were evacuated from frontline areas amid the Ukrainian attack, Putin said he could not name a date.
“We are definitely expelling. Absolutely. It cannot be otherwise. But the question of a specific date, I'm sorry, I can't say now,” he admitted.
Putin calls on the West to shoot down a powerful new Russian missile
Putin appears to have repeated his threat to strike Kiev with Russia's powerful new multi-warhead ballistic missile, dubbed the Oreshnik. Russia has touted the Oreshnik as a hypersonic weapon that is virtually impossible to intercept, but a U.S. Department of Defense official told CBS News it was evaluated as a variant of Russia's existing RS-26, an “experimental” intermediate-range ballistic missile (IMB).
Asked by a military journalist on Thursday if the weapon had any flaws, Putin suggested a “high-tech duel” between the West and Russia to test his claims that the weapon is impervious to air defense.
“Let them set a target for which they will attack, say, in Kiev. They will concentrate all air defense there. And we will attack Oreshnik there and see what happens,” Putin suggested.
Putin believes that the overthrow of Assad in Syria is not a “defeat” for Russia
In his first public comment since the fall of the ex-president of Syria, Bashar al-AssadPutin rejected claims that his overthrow had taken place Russia's “defeat”..
“You want to present what is happening in Syria as a defeat for Russia,” Putin said in response to a journalist's question. “I assure you that is not the case… we have achieved our goals.”
Putin said he had not yet met with Assad, who fled to Moscow as the rebels closed in on Damascus, but planned to meet soon.
MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/SPUTNIK/AFP/Getty
Putin has repeatedly come to Assad's aid during Syria's debilitating civil war and stands to lose a significant military base in the volatile Middle East with his longtime ally now decisively out of power.
Putin considers Russia's economy “stable despite external threats”
On Thursday, Putin was also pressed on the economic difficulties facing Russia, the effects of huge increases in military spending and severe labor shortages caused by the conflict.
He insisted the situation was “stable despite external threats”, citing low unemployment and industrial growth.
Asked about skyrocketing inflation, Putin said “inflation is an alarming signal” and rising prices for products such as butter and meat are “unpleasant”.
He acknowledged that Western sanctions were also a factor — “although not a key one” — and criticized his country's central bank, saying it should have done more than raise rates to reduce inflation.