(Fixes typo in headline)

MOSCOW, Dec 14 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russian forces were strengthening their positions on almost all fronts of the Ukraine war.

Putin said at his annual news conference that Ukraine had lost some of its best troops in an attempt to secure a foothold on the east bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region.

“I think it is stupid and irresponsible on behalf of the political leadership of the country,” Putin said. “It is a tragedy, I believe, for them.”

As the war approaches the end of its second year, Ukraine has achieved only small gains from a counter-offensive that began in June.

Russia, however, has also made no tangible progress since capturing the city of Bakhmut at heavy cost in May. It occupies about a sixth of Ukraine’s territory but does not fully control any of the four Ukrainian regions it claimed last year as part of Russia.

(Reporting by Reuters)