Putin to hold the annual end-of-year conference on December 19: Kremlin

MOSCOW,

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold his annual end-of-year press conference on December 19, the Kremlin announced Thursday.

Putin has held the conference, which often lasts several hours, every December for the past 25 years, with the exception of 2022, when Moscow suffered military setbacks in Ukraine.

This year's event will take place as Moscow's campaign in Ukraine approaches its fourth anniversary and the US pushes for an end to it.

Putin has told Russians several times in recent days that the Kremlin intends to seize the rest of Ukraine's Donbas region, whether by force or other means.

The conference has traditionally been tightly controlled by the Kremlin, with Russians calling in from across the country and Putin answering questions from journalists.

Last year's event lasted four hours and thirty minutes.

The conference will take place as Russia faces massive Western sanctions aimed at stifling its Ukraine offensive, as well as an unprecedented crackdown on domestic dissent.

Putin, a 73-year-old former KGB agent, took over as Russia's president on December 31, 1999, when Boris Yeltsin resigned.