Putin’s chilling admission in mammoth end of year interview

He also said that he was willing to meet Donald Trump at “any time”.

Once a year, the Russian President sits down for hours to take questions. These come from hand-picked Russians via video link, TV hosts and journalists.

The hotly anticipated event, cheerily called Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin, is shown live on TV across the vast country.

Thursday’s news conference lasted for more than four hours.

While many of the questions were soft, others were curlier – on subjects including the country’s soaring inflation to the progress, or lack therefore, of his war against Ukraine.

And it was on Ukraine where he made one of his most surprising – and chilling – admissions.

Putin appeared to acknowledge Russia wasn’t as prepared as it should have been before invading Ukraine which had been more successful than anticipated in pushing back Moscow’s forces.

Footage went worldwide of Putin’s troops bogged down and then picked off on roads heading to Kyiv. Later in 2022, Ukraine regained a substantial chunk of territory Moscow had taken.

Disturbingly, Putin said on Thursday, Russia should have had invaded Ukraine before 2022 to get an easier ride.

“If it was possible to look at the situation knowing what is happening now, I would think that such a decision that was taken, should have been taken earlier,” he told the audience.

“We started the events of 2022 without any preparation

“If we knew earlier what would happen, there should have been a systemic preparation.”

Revealing map

Russia did invade Ukraine’s Crimea and Donbas regions in 2014 but it was only in 2022 that Moscow made a full assault on the country.

Almost three years later, Russia controls about a fifth of Ukraine. Kyiv in turn has captured a small area of Russia’s southern Kursk region.

Behind Putin on a large screen was a map which, notably, showed captured parts of Ukraine as being part of Russia. Although it didn’t show any other parts of Ukraine as being Russian.

Barely any countries accept invaded parts of Ukraine as being legitimate Russian territory.

But the map suggests any peace settlement – if it comes – will not include returning those regions to Kyiv.

Missile ‘duel’ with Ukraine

Putin appeared to repeat his threat to strike Kyiv with Russia’s new hypersonic ballistic missile, dubbed Oreshnik.

Asked by a military journalist if the weapon had any flaws, Putin suggested a “hi-tech duel” between the West and Russia to test his claims that it is impervious to air defences.

“Let them set some target to be hit, let’s say in Kyiv. They will concentrate there all their air defences. And we will launch an Oreshnik strike there and see what happens,” Putin proposed.

Ready to meet Trump ‘any time’

Putin also said he was willing to meet Donald Trump when he becomes US President to discuss Ukraine.

“I don’t know when we will meet. Because he hasn’t said anything about it. I haven’t spoken to him at all in over four years.

“Of course, I am ready for this at any time, and I will be ready for a meeting if he wants it.”

The Russian leader said he was “open to compromises” to resolve the war in Ukraine. But he was quiet on what those compromises would be.

He gave a rosy picture of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saying there was “movement,” in Moscow’s favour “along the entire front line, every day”.

“We are not talking about advancing 100-200-300 meters. Our fighters are taking and returning territory in square kilometres. I want to emphasise – every day.”

However, Putin refused to give a timeline for when Russia would be able to return the part of the Kursk region Ukraine controls and where North Korean troops are fighting.

Ukraine has said it took the Russian areas so it could have leverage in a future peace agreement.

“We will absolutely kick them out. Absolutely. It can’t be any other way. But the question of a specific date, I’m sorry, I cannot say right now,” said Putin.

“Our guys are fighting, there is a battle going on right now, and serious battles.

“It is unclear why, there was no military sense in the Ukrainian Armed Forces entering the Kursk region, or holding on there now as they are doing, throwing their best units there to be slaughtered.

“But nevertheless, it is happening.”

“You want to present what is happening in Syria as a defeat for Russia. I assure you it is not,” Putin said in response to a question from a journalist.

“We came to Syria 10 years ago so that a terrorist enclave would not be created there like in Afghanistan. On the whole, we have achieved our goal”.

Putin said he has not yet met Assad, who fled to Moscow as rebels closed in on Damascus, but plans to soon.

The Kremlin chief said Israel was the “main beneficiary” of events in Syria and called for it to withdraw troops from the “territory of Syria”.

Putin was also pressed on economic headwinds facing Russia — the fallout from a huge ramp up in military spending and deep labour shortages caused by the conflict.

He insisted that the situation is “stable, despite external threats”, citing low unemployment and industrial growth.

Asked about soaring inflation, Putin said that “inflation is a worrying signal,” and that price rises for foods such as butter and meat are “unpleasant”.

He acknowledged that Western sanctions were also a factor — “while they do not have key significance” — and criticised the central bank saying it should have taken measures beyond raising rates to lower inflation.