Putin wishes Russians victory in Ukraine in New Year speech

President Vladimir Putin said Russia believed it would win in Ukraine in an address Wednesday, as his country marked another New Year -- their main holiday -- at war.

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A room of a damaged residential building following an attack in Odesa on Wednesday. Russian strikes wounded six people in Odesa including three children, the Ukrainian city's military administration said. - AFP

(AFP)

The almost four-year offensive in Ukraine has come at a huge human cost, with military deaths on both sides believed to be in the tens, or even hundreds, of thousands.

Putin devoted much of his short address to "fighters and commanders" in Ukraine. He did not mention an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on one of his residences which Kyiv has denied, calling the claim an attempt to derail a stumbling US-led peace process.