Kiev/Moscow, 20 December 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Almost two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the leaders of both countries see each other ahead in the grueling conflict that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

Speaking during a major year-end press conference in Kiev on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that Russia had not achieved any of its war aims in Ukraine in 2023.

While Moscow's forces were unable to completely conquer the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine had largely regained control of the western Black Sea, Zelensky asserted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on the other hand, also commenting on the war on Tuesday in Moscow, said the initiative currently lies with his troops.

A few hours earlier, Putin had expressed his satisfaction with the course of the war to representatives of his Defence Ministry.

The West had not succeeded in inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia in Ukraine, he said. That goal had been smashed by the "growing strength of our armed forces and defence production," Putin told military personnel and representatives from politics, the church and society.

In the war against Ukraine, "we can say with conviction that the initiative lies on the side of our armed forces," the Russian president claimed, without giving further details.

At the same time, he admitted that the war against Ukraine had highlighted problems in Russia's defence. The country needed more drones, better air defence and a modern satellite communication system, Putin said.

Immediately before Putin's appearance, the Russian air defence system shot down a Ukrainian drone in the Moscow region, according to military sources.

Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022 with the help of Western military aid.

At the meeting in Moscow, Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Ukraine had now lost 383,000 soldiers to death or injury.

Ukraine currently puts the number of losses in the Russian ranks at 348,000 soldiers.

The figures cannot be independently verified. Neither of the warring parties has released official figures on their own losses.

Shoigu also said that the number of volunteers should increase by more than 250,000 to around 745,000 contract soldiers in the coming year. The Russian military pays recruits a relatively high salary of around $2,200 per month.

For Ukraine, "the question of mobilization is a very delicate one," Zelensky said at the press conference in Kiev.

The army had requested 450,000 new soldiers, and additional mobilization on this scale would require around 500 billion hryvnia ($13.3 billion), he said.

Another issue to consider was ensuring that the soldiers who have been serving so far are allowed to rest and are given home leave, according to the president, adding that a complex plan was being drawn up to ensure this.

Zelensky also expressed optimism that both the EU and the US will continue to support his country in the fight against the Russian invasion, even though Western aid currently seems to be faltering.

"I am convinced that the US will not betray us," Zelensky said.

The release of further US funds for Ukraine currently hangs in the balance due to a dispute in Congress between Republicans and Democrats.

Meanwhile, a €50-billion ($54.9-billion) EU aid package earmarked for Kiev is being blocked by Hungary.

Zelensky, however, said he was optimistic that "we will find a way to obtain these €50 billion."

The Russian army currently occupies around one fifth of Ukraine's territory, including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in violation of international law in 2014.

A Ukrainian counter-offensive to liberate the five territories has only made slow progress this year so far.

However, Russian troops have also fallen far short of the Kremlin's war aims over the past two years and, according to experts, have suffered massive losses.

The Russian Air Force used a hypersonic Kinzhal missile against Ukraine for the first time since August, the British Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday, corroborating earlier Ukrainian reports.

"At least one" Kinzhal was fired toward central Ukraine on December 13, with a military airfield the likely target, the ministry said in its regular intelligence update on the war.

"In the Ukraine war, Russia has reserved the weapon for what it perceives as high value, well-defended targets," the update said, adding that the missile has had a "mixed combat debut."

"Many of its launches have likely missed their intended targets, while Ukraine has also succeeded in intercepting attacks by this supposedly 'undefeatable' system."

The Ukrainian military, which is equipped with Western air defence systems, has said in the past that is had successfully intercepted Kinzhal missiles.

Kiev said last week that Russian MiG-31 fighter jets had launched a volley of hypersonic missiles at central and western Ukraine.

Ukrainian media reported explosions near the Starokostiantyniv military airfield. The site has long been the target of Russian attacks using drones and missiles.

Russia has stepped up its aerial attacks on Ukraine over recent days, launching drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

Last winter, the attacks targeted energy infrastructure in particular.  

The British ministry has been publishing daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the fighting in February 2022. Moscow accuses London of spreading disinformation.

Photo: MIA archive