Ukraine forces vow to hold battered eastern city of Kupyansk, but residents fear Russians' return

Kupyansk, eastern Ukraine — For almost a year, Russian President Vladimir Putin has sold a distorted version of his war on Ukraine to his people based on lies about how it started and what his military is fighting for and against. The speech he delivered Tuesday in Moscow, just less than a year after he ordered the full-scale invasion of the neighboring nation on Feb. 24, 2022, was no exception.

In his annual state of the nation address, the Russian autocrat yet again accused Western nations and the NATO alliance of drawing him into a war with the intention of destroying Russia and obtaining "unlimited power." He claimed the Russian people unanimously back his assault on Ukraine, despite thousands of young men fleeing the country to avoid fighting in it, and he insisted that his military had all the resources needed to continue the onslaught.