Russian President Vladimir Putin accused European Union leaders of acting like “burglars” over frozen Russian assets and repeated his claim that Ukraine was responsible for starting the war, during his annual end-of-year press conference on Thursday.
Speaking at the event known as “Results of the Year”, which he has held in various formats since 2001, Putin opened with an extensive focus on the war in Ukraine, portraying Russia as holding the strategic upper hand and Kyiv as unwilling to bring the conflict to an end.
Claims of battlefield momentum
Putin said Ukrainian forces were retreating “in all directions” as Russian troops continued to advance. He claimed that Russia gained a decisive strategic advantage after pushing Ukrainian forces out of the Russian border region of Kursk.
He also repeated the Kremlin’s long-standing narrative that Kyiv “started the war in eastern Ukraine” in 2022, arguing that Ukrainian authorities should have allowed residents in the east to “choose how they wanted to live”.
“They did not want to let them do that at the time,” Putin said.
Western governments and international organisations have consistently rejected this framing, describing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as unprovoked and in violation of international law.
Conditions for peace talks
Putin said Russia was ready to end the war “by peaceful means”, but only under conditions previously outlined by the Kremlin. Citing a speech he delivered in June 2024 to senior Russian foreign ministry officials, he said any settlement would require Ukraine to fully withdraw its forces from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and abandon its ambition to join NATO.
While acknowledging what he described as signs that Kyiv might be open to dialogue, Putin said Russia had seen no willingness from the Ukrainian government to discuss territorial issues.
Despite his comments about peace, Putin insisted that Russian forces were continuing to make gains “along the entire front”, naming several towns and villages he said were close to falling under Russian control, including areas around Krasnyi Lyman in eastern Donetsk.
Dispute over Kupiansk and Zelensky remarks
Recent Russian claims about battlefield advances have been disputed. In November, Moscow said it had captured Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, a claim contradicted by Ukrainian officials. President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the frontline city last week, saying Ukrainian forces had regained parts of it.
Asked about a video circulated on social media showing Zelensky in Kupiansk, Putin dismissed it, calling the Ukrainian leader “a talented actor”. He claimed the footage was filmed about a kilometre away from the city itself.
“If the city is under their control, why don’t they come into the city?” Putin said sarcastically.
EU asset seizure likened to “burglary”
Putin reserved some of his strongest language for the European Union, accusing its leaders of acting like “burglars” for their efforts to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
“Theft is usually done secretly. Here it is being done openly,” he said.
His comments followed an agreement by the EU to provide a €90 billion loan to support Ukraine’s defence, backed by profits generated from frozen Russian state assets. According to Reuters and AP reporting, Brussels has argued that the move is legally sound and politically justified given the scale of Russian aggression.
Putin warned that Europe’s actions would have “serious consequences”, comparing EU states to “robbers” targeting Russian property.
“This is burglary,” he said. “The consequences for the thieves will be very serious.”
Economic claims and warnings to Europe
The Russian president also claimed that Russia’s public finances were in better shape than those of France, particularly in terms of public debt, and said Europe would eventually be forced to return what he described as stolen Russian assets.
Western leaders have countered that Russia bears responsibility for the economic fallout of the war and that frozen assets will remain inaccessible until Moscow changes course.
Sources: CNN, Reuters, AP