Vladimir Putin is speaking in Russia at an annual TV event – where he’s claimed Ukraine is retreating. That’s despite the EU agreeing a deal overnight to fund Kyiv’s defence efforts for the next two years. Watch and follow live below.
Friday 19 December 2025 10:11, UK
Vladimir Putin has just been criticising the EU for its pursuit of using Russia’s frozen assets to fund Ukraine, saying, “theft is not a great definition for this”.
“Theft is [in] secret… here it is done in the open,” he said.
The EU agreed a 90bn euro loan to fund Ukraine’s defence last night, as we’ve been reporting.
Many European leaders had wanted to directly use Russian assets frozen in EU countries – worth closer to 200bn euros – to fund Ukraine. But legal concerns from Belgium, where most of the assets are held, prompted the bloc to agree on the loan instead.
Putin said of the EU’s efforts to fund his enemy that there will be “serious consequences” – comparing the countries involved to “burglars” for targeting Russian assets.
“It’s burglary… the consequences are very serious for the burglars,” he said at one point.
It will be “very difficult” for EU countries which are adding additional burdens to their budgets, via the loan for Ukraine, he added.
Russia will defend itself in courts, in a jurisdiction that is not dependent on political decisions, Putin said.
He said that Europe will sooner or later have to give back what it steals from Russia’s assets.
The Russian leader also claimed his country’s finances are in a better state than France’s, in terms of national debt.
Here’s a full translated quote from Putin on the EU decision:
“It’s not easy to make decisions related to stealing other people’s money. But there are other, more serious consequences for those who try to do this. This is not just a blow to the image – it undermines trust in the eurozone in this case, because, of course, many countries, not just Russia, store their gold and foreign exchange reserves in the eurozone.
“In addition to image losses, there may be direct losses related to the fundamental foundations of the modern financial world order. That’s why it’s not easy.
“And most importantly: no matter what they steal and how they do it, they will eventually have to give it back.
“Among other things, we will defend our interests, primarily in courts. We will try to find a jurisdiction that is independent of political decision.”
Vladimir Putin is continuing his marathon speech, saying he has “confidence that until the end of this year, we will be witnesses to new successes of our military”.
It comes after the Russian president said that his country planned to “move west” after making further advancements in Ukraine.
He adds that he has received reports from his military that there had already been movements west by about 1.5km and Russian forces were continuing to advance across the battlefield.
The state of the frontlines is increasingly relevant to negotiations over territory in peace talks.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, recently visited a frontline area himself – as both sides try to talk up their gains, perhaps for the benefit of Donald Trump.
While Vladimir Putin is busy on stage in Moscow, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Poland.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has greeted his Ukrainian counterpart at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.
The two are expected to hold talks before a news conference at around 11am.
We’re hearing from Vladimir Putin as he starts his marathon TV extravaganza, and he’s already accusing Ukraine of “refusing to end this conflict through peaceful means”.
The Russian president even claims the government in Kyiv “began the war in the east of Ukraine” in 2022, saying Ukraine should have left “the people alone to let them choose the way of life in that part of Ukraine”.
“They didn’t want to let them do it then,” he adds.
Russia, of course, launched its full invasion of Ukraine in Feburary 2022 – with Putin’s government referring to it as a “special military operation”.
Speaking at his TV event, Putin says that Russia has always wanted to end the conflict “through peaceful means” – despite Russia’s invasion, and its attacks on Ukraine’s towns and cities.
He also claims that “the enemy is retreating” in all directions and that the “strategic initiative” shifted towards Russia when its forces pushed Ukraine’s troops out of the Russian region of Kursk.
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
After a 90-minute wait to get through security, I’ve finally taken my seat in the hall for Vladimir Putin’s TV extravaganza.
Will I get a question? No guarantee, unfortunately.
Last year, there were only two questions from Western media.
The vast majority go to domestic outlets, which generally ask about issues local to their region.
But I have my Sky News sign, which I will be frantically waving to try to attract the attention of Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov, who’ll be moderating the event.
The trouble is, everyone else will be waving their signs too.
Vladimir Putin has now taken to the stage in Moscow for his end-of-year news conference.
The Russian leader has held his Results Of The Year event in different formats for most years since 2001.
He’ll field dozens of questions on everything from price rises and his own future to nuclear weapons and what the Kremlin calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Follow the whole event at the top of this page.
We’ve just heard more from the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, on this morning’s EU funding deal for Ukraine.
He has called on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to resign over the package.
The Russian businessman, who has been a key envoy for the Kremlin in recent negotiations with the US, said the leaders “should resign if they want to prove ‘convictions, unity and determination’,” according to the Russian state news agency Tass.
“As they promised, after they failed to achieve the illegal seizure of Russian reserves by the EU,” Dmitriev added.
He earlier accused EU leaders of being “warmongers” by ignoring objections from “voices of reason” (likely member states Hungary and Slovakia” (see 5.21 post).
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says maintaining relations with Poland is “very important” ahead of his visit to the country today.
The Ukrainian president will meet his Polish counterpart, Karol Nawrocki, in Warsaw as he tries to shore up relations with a key ally at a crucial moment for Kyiv’s war effort.
There is a broad consensus in Poland that aid for Ukraine is essential in order to keep Russia away from its own borders, though there has been a rising anti-Ukrainian sentiment among some right-wing voters.
In an interview with Polish media published on Monday, Nawrocki said his country “should ensure that Ukraine treats Poland as a partner”.
“The conflict has been going on for nearly four years, and I have the impression that we, Poles, often don’t feel like partners in this relationship,” he added.
Zelenskyy and Nawrocki are set to meet this morning ahead of a news conference at around 11am UK time.
He’ll later attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and meet with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
We’re in the queue for Vladimir Putin’s annual end-of-year address along with hundreds of other journalists.
It’s always a marathon event – last year, the Kremlin leader spoke for four and a half hours. He’ll be fielding questions from both the media and the public.
Ordinary Russians phone in to voice their concerns directly to the president, with the whole thing carried live on all the main TV channels.
It’s designed to show Russians that their leader has everything under control – no matter the problem, he can fix it.
I expect there’ll be a degree of gloating regarding the EU’s decision not to deploy the frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.
And I’m sure he’ll address the latest developments in the peace talks – most probably to double down on Moscow’s demands.
European leaders have been quick to praise the EU’s latest funding package for Ukraine, agreed after late-night talks in Brussels.
Germany’s Friedrich Merz says the new €90bn loan “sends a clear signal” to Vladimir Putin: “This war will not be worth it.”
In a post on social media, the chancellor added: “We will keep Russian assets frozen until Russia has compensated Ukraine.”
Emmanuel Macron said the loan “was the most realistic and practical way” to fund Ukraine.
But he said it would become “useful” at some point to reengage with Vladimir Putin, and said Europe and Ukraine should try to find the right format for possible talks.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, the main opponent of using frozen Russian assets to back Ukraine, says EU leaders have “remained united” with the new deal.
As for those at the top of the EU, the mood is a positive one, as expected.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “We gathered today with a clear objective: to address Ukraine’s pressing financing needs. We delivered.”
EU Council President Antonio Costa simply said: “We committed, we delivered.”
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