Moscow, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday hailed his army's accelerating advance in Ukraine and praised 2024 as a "landmark" year in the course of Moscow's invasion of its neighbor.

Addressing top military generals in an end-of-year meeting, the Kremlin leader struck a defiant and optimistic tone, claiming his troops had the upper hand across the entire front line.

He also hit out at what he called a Western "hybrid war" and its attempts to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Moscow.

The comments come with Russia's army advancing across eastern Ukraine at their fastest pace since the first weeks of the offensive.

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Both Moscow and Kyiv are seeking to improve their position on the battlefield before US President-elect Donald Trump comes to power in January.

The Republican has repeatedly said he could strike a ceasefire in hours, without presenting a plan, and speculation about peace talks is mounting.

"Russian troops are firmly holding the strategic initiative along the entire line of contact," Putin said in the televised meeting with army bosses and defense ministry officials.

He said Russia's army had seized 189 Ukrainian settlements this year and called 2024 a "landmark year in the achievement of the goals of the special military operation."

Speaking after Putin at the same meeting, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said Russia's troops had seized over 1,700 square miles of Ukrainian territory in this year and were now gaining more than 11 square miles a day.

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He claimed Ukraine controlled less than 1% of the eastern Lugansk region, and around 25-30% of the Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Russia claimed in 2022 to annex all four, despite not having full control over any of them.

AFP analysis of Institute for the Study of War data found that in November Russian troops advanced at their fastest pace since March 2022 – the first full month of the offensive.

Putin also hailed Russia's military industry and defense enterprises in providing advanced weapons and equipment to support Moscow's army.

He said Russia was working on the mass production of missile systems – including hypersonic ones like the Oreshnik missile used on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro last month – and hinted at troops using AI-powered systems.

Amid signs of economic volatility at home, the ex-KGB spy, in power for a quarter of a century, defended Russia's vast defence and security spending.

Military spending has surpassed 6% of GDP, while overall defense and security outlays are almost 9%.

Kyiv, by contrast, relies on Western financial and military support to fund and wage its defensive campaign.

There are fears there that Trump could cut US aid, potentially dealing a devastating blow to Ukraine's ability to hold off Russia's advance.

Ukraine also faces manpower shortages across the frontlines and is being pressured by Washington to consider lowering its draft age from 25 to 18 to recruit more soldiers.

Putin said that Russia – which offers huge salaries and sign-up bonuses to new soldiers – faced no such problems. He claimed 430,000 people had signed up to fight this year, up from around 300,000 in 2023.