Putin says in New Year address that Russia will 'move forward' in 2025

Putin's seasonal message was being broadcast at midnight in each of Russia's 11 time zones, starting with Kamchatka and Chukotka in the far east.

He said that Russia had strengthened its unity in the first quarter of the 21st century, achieving significant goals and overcoming trials.

"And now, on the threshold of the new year, we are thinking about the future. We are confident that everything will be fine, we will only move forward. We know for sure that the absolute value for us was, is and will be the fate of Russia, the well-being of its citizens," he said.

Putin paid tribute to Russian soldiers fighting in the war in Ukraine, describing them as "true heroes", but did not refer in detail to the state of the conflict or make predictions for how the battlefield situation would evolve in 2025.