Vladimir Putin has announced he was dodging his annual press conference in Moscow.
The move will likely raise fresh speculation about his health and appears aimed at him dodging being quizzed about Russian war failures in Ukraine.
The major end-of-year session usually takes place between 14 and 23 December, but today the Kremlin announced it will not take place.
At the annual press conference, he routinely faces questions from 500-plus Russian and also foreign journalists in a major live televised live event that can last more than four hours.
Previous reports suggested that he had already decided that Western media should be banned from the event, but cancelling the event altogether shows he is not even ready to face Russian journalists in the glare of a major live event.
His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would find a way to communicate with the Kremlin “pool”, which will likely be Uber-loyalist and state-affiliated media, despite aborting the live session which was one of the highlights of his year.
He also indicated a press conference could take place in the New Year but gave no specified date or format.
Peskov also failed to give a date for Putin to address the senate which is a formal annual duty under the constitution.
The announcement will further fuel suspicions that Putin is not sufficiently healthy to endure the long sessions.
Peskov said: "As for the big press conference - yes there won’t be any until the New Year. We do, however, expect the president will find a way to communicate….with the Kremlin Pool”.
Putin also will not host a New Year celebration, Peskov announced.
There has been significant speculation about Putin's medical condition including persistent, albeit unfounded claims, that he is suffering from cancer or Parkinson's.
There are also rumours that he underwent minor surgery at the weekend after an alleged fall down the stairs at an official residence.
The Kremlin denied he suffered a fall in which he soiled himself, as the press has alleged.
The press conference with Putin has been held annually in December for a decade and in 2019, a record 1,895 journalists were in attendance.
