Reflecting on Moscow's almost three-year assault on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin regrets his country's lack of "systematic preparations" before their attempt to take Kyiv in 2022, as well as before the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Asked during his annual televised press conference how the conflict has changed him, Putin also calls the fighting "a serious test... including for me," before adding "I have started joking less and I have almost stopped laughing altogether." SOUNDBITES