Moscow - While visiting a military hospital in Moscow, President Putin asserted that the Russian military would persist in targeting Ukrainian "military installations." He condemned a recent Ukrainian air raid on the Russian city of Belgorod as a "deliberate strike against civilians," resulting in 25 reported casualties according to local officials.

Addressing Russian servicemen on Monday, Putin claimed that the tide of the war was shifting in Moscow's favor, expressing a desire for a swift end to the conflict on Russia's terms. He attributed the prolonged conflict to Ukraine's Western supporters, identifying them as the primary obstacle to resolution. Putin noted a perceived change in their rhetoric as they began to recognize the impossibility of "destroying" Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disputed Putin's assertions in an interview with The Economist, characterizing Putin's belief that Russia was winning the war as merely a "feeling." Zelensky emphasized Russia's casualty figures in Ukraine and highlighted the resistance's success in preventing the capture of any major cities in 2023. Zelensky also expressed frustration with Western allies, accusing them of losing a sense of urgency.

Both leaders delivered New Year messages, with Putin praising Russian soldiers as "heroes" without explicit reference to the ongoing conflict. In his New Year address, Zelensky pledged a significant increase in the country's weapons production, aiming to build at least a million drones.

Recent days have seen deadly exchanges between Russia and Ukraine, including Ukrainian shelling of Russia-held Ukrainian cities and Ukrainian forces launching strikes on southwest Russia. The attack on Belgorod, termed a "terrorist attack" by Putin, resulted in 25 reported casualties. Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov confirmed the death toll, which included a 4-year-old girl, and reported 109 people wounded, with 45 currently hospitalized. Last week, Russia launched a widespread attack across multiple Ukrainian cities, described by Kyiv as the most extensive missile bombardment of the war thus far, resulting in at least 45 casualties.