Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold his traditional year-end press conference on Thursday at noon Moscow time. This year the conference again coincides with the ‘Direct Line’ event, during which Putin responds to questions from citizens and journalists, including representatives from Western media.
The collection of inquiries from the public began on December 8 and will continue until the start of the live broadcast. As of a day before the event, over 2 million questions had been submitted by Russian citizens. Last year’s combined session lasted over four hours, while the longest ‘Direct Line’ was in 2013, lasting nearly five hours.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov explained that artificial intelligence is being used for the first time to classify questions for the event, allowing officials to quickly identify issues across different regions. “AI helps instantaneously categorize inquiries by topics, geographical areas, and specific aspects of each problem,” Peskov said.
Priority topics for the upcoming session include questions related to the Ukraine military operation and economic issues faced by citizens. Peskov noted that there is less concern this year regarding international issues compared to domestic problems. Key themes include support for soldiers at the front line, healthcare, transport infrastructure, and economic development challenges.
Follow live updates on RT.com for the latest from the press conference and direct line session.