Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin says he should have invaded earlier as missiles strike Zelensky’s hometown
Russia should have invaded Ukraine earlier, Russian president Vladimir Putin has said, as he used an end-of-year press conference to double down on his decision to start the war.
Despite the toll his war has taken on Russia’s finances and the lives of its young men, Putin claimed that sending troops into Ukraine in 2022 has boosted his country’s military and economic power.
If he could do it all again, he said, “such a decision should have been made earlier” and Russia could have “prepared for it in advance and more thoroughly”.
Putin also said he was open to talks with Donald Trump, saying “we will have things to discuss”. The US president-elect has pledged to negotiate a deal to end the conflict in Ukraine.
On the battlefield on Friday morning, five people have been injured after a Russian missile strike damaged a two-storey residence in Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown, Kryvyi Rih.
Russia has also carried out a cyberattack on Ukraine’s state registries containing citizen information on births, deaths, marriages and property ownership. It has resulted in a temporary suspension of services, said Ukrainian deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna.
