Putin defends Ukraine invasion, blasts Western interference in state of the nation address

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 neighbour that has killed tens of thousands of people.

In his long-delayed state-of-the-nation address, Putin cast Russia — and Ukraine — as victims of Western double-dealing and said Russia, not Ukraine, was the one fighting for its very existence.

"We aren't fighting the Ukrainian people," Putin said in a speech days before the war's first anniversary on Friday. Ukraine "has become hostage of the Kyiv regime and its Western masters, which have effectively occupied the country."

Putin also said that Russia is suspending its participation in the New START Treaty, signed with the U.S. in 2010 and extended in the early days of the Biden administration in 2021. The treaty caps the number of long-range nuclear warheads they can deploy and limits the use of missiles that can carry atomic weapons.

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The speech reiterated a litany of grievances that the Russian leader has frequently offered as justification for the widely condemned war and ignored international demands to pull back from occupied areas in Ukraine.

The Russian leader vowed no military let-up in Ukrainian territories he has illegally annexed, apparently rejecting any peace overtures in a conflict that has reawakened fears of a new Cold War.

Analysts expected Putin's speech would be tough in the wake of U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Kyiv on Monday.

Putin offered his personalized version of recent history, which discounted arguments by the Ukrainian government that it needed Western help to thwart a Russian military takeover.

"Western elites aren't trying to conceal their goals, to inflict a 'strategic defeat' to Russia," Putin said in the speech broadcast by all state TV channels. "They intend to transform the local conflict into a global confrontation."

He said that Russia is prepared to respond to that as "it will be a matter of our country's existence."

Putin accused the West of launching "aggressive information attacks" and taking aim at Russian culture, religion and values because it is aware that "it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield."

He also accused Western nations of waging an attack on Russia's economy with sanctions — but declared those actions hadn't "achieved anything and will not achieve anything."

While the constitution mandates that the president deliver the speech annually, Putin never gave one in 2022. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the speech's delay had to do with Putin's "work schedule," but Russian media reports linked it to the multiple setbacks Russian forces have suffered on the battlefield in Ukraine.