Russian troops are “acting heroically,” and “the capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces are growing,” Putin said during his annual Direct Line call-in show on December 19. “The situation is changing dramatically, progress is being made along the entire front line, and the troops are reclaiming territory by the square kilometer each day.” Behind him, two people hold a copy of the banner of Russia’s 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade, currently deployed in the Kursk region.

On December 19, Vladimir Putin is set to host Direct Line, the annual call-in show where he answers questions from Russian citizens. For the first time, AI will play a role in preparing for the event, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov: Sberbank’s chatbot GigaChat — Russia’s answer to ChatGPT — will reportedly assist producers in processing the more than one million questions submitted for Putin. On December 17, the news outlet Bumaga posted pictures of an ad for Direct Line that featured Putin’s face projected onto the 460-foot-tall Leader Tower in St. Petersburg.