Kremlin spokesman Peskov says Putin still plans to give New Year's address

Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver his annual New Year’s address to the Russian people, his spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed on Wednesday.

According to Peskov, there will also be no changes to the speech’s format: like always, Putin will speak to TV cameras while standing in front of the Kremlin.

Peskov added that Putin’s New Year’s addresses always “bear the imprint of the past year and contain the main phrases and messages for the beginning year,” and that “this time will be no different.”

Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, Putin has canceled several of his traditional speeches and addresses. This summer, for example, he didn’t hold his previously-annual call-in show “Direct Line with Vladimir Putin,” and in December, he canceled his traditional end-of-year press conference. In addition, the president will reportedly not address Russia’s Federal Assembly this year, despite a constitutional requirement that he do so annually.