What will Putin discuss at his big annual news conference?

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia will hold his year-end press conference on Thursday, resuming an annual tradition at a crucial time for the war his troops are waging in Ukraine.

The December press conference is traditionally an extended marathon that offers reporters a rare — albeit staged — opportunity to ask potentially tough questions. Putin is in much better shape than a year earlier, when he skipped the annual ritual amid Ukraine’s setbacks.

Here’s a look at the topics Mr Putin is expected to cover.

• Mr Putin is approaching the third year of his invasion of Ukraine in a position of relative strength. Backed by dense defenses, Russian forces have repelled Ukraine’s counter-offensive this year and are now attacking in several areas along the front line. Russian military production is increasing and the army – despite very high losses – has managed to regain its position without resorting to a new wave of mobilization so far.

  More generally, the impasse over military aid to Ukraine in the US Congress seems more realistic. Most independent military analysts believe that without more U.S. supplies, Russia could make bigger gains next year.

• Mr Putin has made the resilience of his country’s wartime economy a major talking point in recent public speeches. Despite a series of international sanctions, Russia’s economy has regained its pre-war size and is expected to grow by around 3 percent this year as a significant increase in military spending boosts production while labor shortages force wages to rise .

  But the state’s record spending comes at a cost: Inflation has risen sharply since the spring, high interest rates are stifling private investment, companies are struggling to find workers and the economy is increasingly dependent on volatile oil revenues. But for now, Putin appears to be happy with strong headline numbers, which support his broad narrative that the worst economic fallout from the war is over.

• The press conference is likely to provide Mr. Putin with many foils for one of his favorite themes: presenting his foreign adversaries as hypocritical and decadent. .

  Mr. Putin could also try to exploit social divisions in the West, presenting himself as a champion of socially conservative causes that resonate with many citizens around the world.

• Mr. Putin has largely succeeded in getting the Russian public to acquiesce in the war and a long-term standoff with the West. Organized opposition to the war is waning amid escalating repression, and Mr. Putin has recently cracked down on the ultranationalist minority that has criticized his war strategy.

  Whether Putin can maintain public apathy next year is uncertain. Even if US support for Ukraine declines, most analysts believe that Putin’s forces are unlikely to achieve a decisive breakthrough without a new wave of mobilization, which would be deeply unpopular.

• With the Russian political system under his firm control, Putin is widely expected to win another six-year term as president in March elections. In the absence of any real competition between the candidates, the vote will most likely end in a referendum on Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, and he will likely use the outcome to add a veneer of legitimacy to the war and increase approval of the Russians. of his actions.

  If he were re-elected and served another term, Putin would by 2030 become the longest-serving Russian leader since Empress Catherine the Great in the 18th century, surpassing all Soviet rulers, including Stalin.

Ivan Nechepurenko reporting contributed.