In his long-awaited State of the Union address to both houses of the Russian parliament on Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin vowed to achieve all the aims of Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine “step by step.”
Putin Blames West for Ukraine War
Putin claimed that Russia tried its “best to solve the problem in Ukraine peacefully, but the statements of Western leaders turned out to be fraudulent and untrue.”
Putin accused the West of having “unleashed the war,” claiming that Russia was now “using force to stop it.” “They let the genie out of the bottle [and] plunged entire regions into chaos,” Putin affirmed, holding the US-led Western coalition responsible for the escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Western countries Tuesday of igniting and sustaining the war in Ukraine, dismissing any blame for Moscow almost a year after the Kremlin’s unprovoked invasion of its neighbor that has killed tens of thousands..."https://t.co/9AKAbMSyol
— Michael Tackett (@tackettdc) February 21, 2023
He reiterated that the West “did not leave us any other option for defending Russia and our people, other than the one we are forced to use today,” referring to Moscow’s military action. “The more long-range Western systems are delivered into Ukraine, the further we’ll have to push the threat from our borders,” he vowed, adding, “The elites of the West intend to transform a local conflict into a phase of global confrontation.”
Nevertheless, he asserted that it “is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield,” therefore, the West is conducting more “aggressive information attacks against [Russia].”
Ukraine is West’s Hostage
Putin went on to say that Ukrainians “have become the hostage of the Kyiv regime and its Western overlords, who have effectively occupied this country in the political, military and economic sense,” thus serving the interests of other countries instead of their own.
He further alleged that the Western powers could use Ukraine, neo-Nazis, terrorists, and “even the devil” just to attack Russia.
Putin Slams the US
Putin stated that the US views the Ukraine war “as an anti-Russian project,” and its aim is to “seize these historically Russian lands from [Russia].”
“I want to emphasise that no country in the world has as many military bases abroad as the United States,” he pointed out, claiming that these bases numbered in the hundreds.
Putin said that NATO in January demanded a return to inspections of Russian nuclear sites under the START Treaty, calling it a "theater of absurdity"
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) February 21, 2023
"The West is directly involved in plans to strike at our strategic targets" Putin says
“It is unacceptable that the US is reshaping the picture of the world specifically for itself,” Putin declared, further revealing that the New Strategic Nuclear Arms Treaty (START) was currently suspended, as allowing US officials to conduct inspections of Russia’s military facilities would be like a “theatre of the absurd.”
Russia’s Economy Not Hampered by Western Sanctions
Putin noted that the several rounds of Western sanctions did not have the desired effect, despite the West trying to make the lives of Russians difficult. He affirmed that the Russian economy has rallied and new avenues have opened up for businesses.
WATCH: #BNNRussia Reports.
— Gurbaksh Singh Chahal (@gchahal) February 21, 2023
During his address to parliament, #Putin claims that those who imposed sanctions on Russia are only punishing themselves, which has led to job losses, business closures, and energy crises in their countries.#Russia #Putin #Politics pic.twitter.com/08sVb5LweI
“There won’t be a ‘guns instead of oil’ situation in Russia,” he added.
Additionally, Putin called the thousands of Russian citizens, who fled the country once partial mobilisation in Ukraine was announced in September, “traitors,” further stating that the Russian government would not “engage in ‘witch hunting.’”