PUTIN SITTING PRETTY: Emboldened by the failure of the United States to approve new military aid for Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin projected a newfound confidence about his ability to outlast the West in his four-hour, end-of-the-year news conference.

Putin skipped the annual tradition last year, when the war was going badly, but resumed the highly choreographed forum this year, fielding questions from the press and the public while sounding confident that he now has the winning hand in the nearly two-year war.