Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on the population to unite in a new year that will likely see Moscow’s gruelling war on Ukraine grind on into a fourth year.
“I am sure that everything will be fine. We will only move forward,” the Russian president said in his New Year address.
Without mentioning the war against Ukraine that he started in 2022, Putin praised the Russian soldiers currently in action. “You are true heroes who have taken on this huge burden,” he said.
The soldiers would protect Russia and ensure security and a stable peace for the Russian people, Putin added.
The president’s New Year address, which lasted three and a half minutes, is being broadcast in each of the country’s 11 time zones as they enter 2025, starting with Kamchatka in the far east which welcomed the New Year at 1200 GMT Tuesday.
