Putin declared that Russian forces have "fully seized the strategic initiative" and predicted further advances at his tightly controlled year-end news conference, following the annual Q&A that has long drawn questions about the war and a struggling economy.He said troops were advancing "all across the line of contact" and that Moscow is open to a peaceful settlement only if Kyiv accepts strict Kremlin demands, including recognition of territory Russia controls in four regions and Crimea, withdrawal from some eastern areas, a bar on NATO membership and troop deployments, limits on Ukraine's armed forces and official status for the Russian language.The live conference, combined with a nationwide call-in show and widely carried by state and independent media, has become a ritual the Kremlin uses to set the domestic agenda, and reporters Mary Ilyushina and Robyn Dixon and photographer Alexander Nemenov/AFP noted that many citizens pressed Putin about ending the nearly four-year war and about household economic pain.