In his address to Russians upon the arrival of 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin focused on the war against Ukraine, now nearing its fourth year.
As is customary, viewers in Russia’s Far East were the first to see the address on Wednesday, December 31.
Putin separately saluted the fighters and commanders of Russia’s Armed Forces who, in his words, “have taken on the responsibility to fight for the motherland, for truth and justice.”
He called them “heroes” and pledged support for them “in word and deed.” “We believe in you and in our victory!” he said.
Otherwise, the address followed a familiar script. The president invoked “Russia’s thousand-year history” and urged national “unity,” the strength of which, he said, “determines the sovereignty and security of the Fatherland, its development, its future.”
By mid-December 2025, journalists from BBC Russian service and Mediazona, working with volunteers and open sources, had identified the names of 155,368 Russian service members killed since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
Experts say actual Russian losses in Ukraine are far higher. Estimates run above 200,000–300,000. According to Ukraine’s General Staff, as of December 30, Russia’s total estimated losses since the full-scale invasion exceed 1.2 million killed and wounded.
At a late-December meeting with the General Staff leadership, Putin accused Ukraine of starting the war and refusing to “resolve the conflict by peaceful means.” He added that Russia is prepared to achieve all objectives “by military means.”
