Putin Declares 'Everything Will Be Fine' Despite Russia's Growing Challenges

A quarter century after assuming power, President Vladimir Putin told Russians in his New Year's Eve address Tuesday that their country was overcoming every challenge and moving forward.

- Anatoly Kurmanaev

But he did not say where Russia was going, even as it takes huge casualties in its war in Ukraine, struggles with rising inflation and absorbs diplomatic blows abroad. The war has claimed the lives of an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Russian soldiers, reshaped Russia's economy and upended its place in the world. Nor did Putin address inflation, the main concern of most ordinary Russians, or a host of other economic challenges.