Russia's president says he should've prepared more before launching his country's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russia should have launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a year-end news conference Thursday.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has said that the so-called "special military operation" ("SVO") - as Russian propaganda refers to the war against Ukraine - should have been launched even earlier. He made this remark when asked whether he would change his mind if he could return to February 2022.

Russia's war in Ukraine is reverberating around the world, with dozens of countries directly or indirectly involved.