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Russian President Vladimir Putin, for the first time since the beginning of the war, is facing Western journalists at a major press conference in Moscow.
He will answer questions from Russian citizens and Western journalists.
This is Putin's first conference after the cancellation last year, The Guardian reports.
Putin said last Friday (December 8) that he will run for president again in March, seeking to hold power until 2030, so he was asked by the reporter to outline his candidacy for the next election.
But the president shied away, talking about tackling unemployment, raising Russian wages and GDP, and expanding industry.
"Strengthening sovereignty is one of my priorities and Russia "cannot exist without it". The world is surprised that the Russian economy has not been marred by Western sanctions, but it has proved resilient and will continue to do so," Putin said.
In another question, Putin was asked to talk about Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine. He said that Russia's goals remain unchanged, repeating that they are the "denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine."
"Peace will happen when we achieve our goals," Putin said.
Russia has long claimed that its attack on Ukraine was to "protect the people" from the Nazis in the country, and this was one of the reasons Putin used to launch the initial invasion.
"Their national hero is a well-known Nazi figure. If they don't want to achieve peace peacefully, we have to take action, including military action," the Russian president said, speaking about demilitarization at the conference.
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