Putin laments “serious mistakes” in assassination of top general and says he will meet Trump “at any time” about the Ukraine war

Moscow – Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare admission Thursday of the failures of his powerful security agencies in connection with the Ukrainian-orchestrated assassination of a top general in Moscow. Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who was the head of the chemical and biological weapons department of the Russian military killed by a bomb planted in a scooter On Tuesday, the boldest attack Kiev has carried out since the beginning of the conflict took place in Moscow.

“Our special services lack these hits. You missed these hits. This means we need to improve this work. “We cannot allow such serious mistakes to happen,” Putin said at his end-of-year press conference, raising a number of points about attacks within Russia on high-ranking Kremlin supporters Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Ukraine has been linked to previous attacks in Russia, including the car bombing of nationalist Darya Dugina in August 2022 and an explosion at a cafe in Saint Petersburg in April 2023 that killed senior military correspondent Maxim Fomin, known as Vladlen Tatarsky became.

Putin addressed Kirillov’s killing for the first time, more than 48 hours after the explosion in a residential area of ​​the Russian capital. Questions have been raised in Moscow about security protocols for such a high-profile and public figure involved in the military offensive against Ukraine.

Kiev claimed responsibility for the attack, saying explosives were packed into an electric scooter left outside the door of an apartment building.

As Kirillov and his assistant exited the building, it exploded, killing them both.

Russia has arrested an Uzbek citizen born in 1995 who is suspected of carrying out the attack, the Investigative Committee said on Wednesday.

It said he said he was “recruited by Ukrainian special forces.”

Putin called the attack “terrorism” on Thursday.

A source in the Ukrainian security service SBU called Kirillov a “legitimate target” and accused him of being behind the mass use of banned chemical weapons on the front lines in eastern Ukraine.

Putin says he will meet Trump “at any time” about Ukraine

Putin said on Thursday he was ready “at any time” for talks with US President-elect Donald Trump, who has touted his ability to strike a peace deal with Ukraine within hours of taking office.

Trump, who will return to the White House in January, has stoked fears in Kiev that he could force Ukraine to accept peace on terms favorable to Moscow.

At his annual year-end news conference, the Kremlin chief said his troops had the upper hand on the battlefield but was forced to admit he doesn’t know when Russia will recapture the western Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops launched an incursion in August.

The traditional annual question-and-answer sessions, which often last hours, are largely televised, but are also a rare place where he is put in the situation and answers some awkward questions.

Asked about Trump’s overtures about a possible peace deal, Putin said he would welcome a meeting with the new Republican.

“I don’t know when I’ll see him. He doesn’t say anything about it. I haven’t spoken to him in over four years. Of course I’m ready for it. Anytime,” Putin said.

“If we ever have a meeting with President-elect Trump, we will certainly have a lot to discuss,” he said, adding that Russia was willing to “negotiate and compromise.”

The Kremlin recently welcomed Trump’s sharp criticism of President Biden’s decision to allow Kiev to use U.S.-supplied missiles to attack Russian territory – a significant escalation in the nearly three-year conflict that Biden’s administration says was sparked by Putin’s convening of thousands Northern Ireland had become necessary Korean soldiers to reinforce its own ground forces.

Russian troops have been advancing in eastern Ukraine for months, and Putin has repeatedly demonstrated their strength on the battlefield.

“We are getting closer to resolving the priority goals that we set for ourselves at the beginning of the special military operation,” Putin said, using the Russian name for the conflict. “Our boys are fighting heroically. The capabilities of the armed forces are growing.”

Moscow’s army advanced into eastern Ukraine in November at its fastest pace since the first month of its attack in 2022.

But when asked by a woman from the Kursk region when residents there would be able to return to their homes after thousands were evacuated from frontline areas in the wake of the Ukrainian attack, Putin said he could not give a date.

“We will definitely throw them out. In any case. There is no other way. But unfortunately I can’t say the question of a specific date at the moment,” he admitted.

Putin calls on the West to shoot down a powerful new Russian missile

Putin appeared to repeat his threat to attack Kiev with Russia’s powerful new multi-warhead ballistic missile called Oreshnik. Russia has touted the Oreshnik as a hypersonic weapon that would be virtually impossible to intercept, but a U.S. Defense Department official said said CBS News It was determined to be a variant of Russia’s existing RS-26 missile, an “experimental” intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).

Asked by a military journalist on Thursday whether the weapon had any flaws, Putin suggested a “high-tech duel” between the West and Russia to test his claims that it was impervious to air defense systems.

“Let them set a target to hit, say in Kiev. They will concentrate all their air defense there. And we will launch an Oreshnik attack there and see what happens,” Putin suggested.

Assad’s fall in Syria is not a “defeat” for Russia, says Putin

In his first public comments since Overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar al-AssadPutin rejected claims that his downfall was a “defeat” for Russia.

“They want to present what is happening in Syria as a defeat for Russia,” Putin said in response to a journalist’s question. “I assure you that is not the case…we have achieved our goals.”

Putin said he had not yet met Assad, who fled to Moscow as rebels closed in on Damascus, but he planned to do so soon.

Putin has come to Assad’s rescue more than once during Syria’s grinding civil war and is in danger of losing a significant military foothold in the unstable Middle East now that his longtime ally is finally out of power.

Putin says Russia’s economy is ‘stable despite external threats’

Putin was also pressed on Thursday about the economic headwinds facing Russia – the fallout from a huge increase in military spending and severe labor shortages caused by the conflict.

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

Asked about rising inflation, Putin said that “inflation is a worrying signal” and that price increases for foods such as butter and meat were “unpleasant.”

He acknowledged that Western sanctions were also a factor – “although they are not of decisive importance” – and criticized his country’s central bank, saying it should have taken measures beyond raising interest rates to curb inflation to lower.