Putin

President Vladimir Putin has pinned the blame for the war in Ukraine on “western elites”, who he said want to “finish” with Russia “forever.”.

[In a scathing one hour and 45 minute-long state of the nation address](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-putin-speech-today-russia-live-b2286459.html?page=2) on Tuesday morning, the Russian president took aim at the West’s support of Ukraine and vowed that Russia will no longer comply with the new START treaty. Ukrainian officials greeted her with a bunch of flowers. Toward the end of his speech, president Vladimir Putin said that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty with the United States that limits the two sides’ strategic nuclear arsenals. “In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty,” Putin said. [Vladimir Putin](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/vladimir-putin) has announced that [Russia](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/russia) is suspending its participation in a key nuclear arms deal with the US, in a move that appeared to send a stark warning about the use of nuclear powers in the war on Ukraine. [China](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/china) said on Tuesday that a “nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought” as its top diplomat prepared to meet Russian president [Vladimir Putin](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/vladimir-putin) in Moscow. Watch live as president Joe Biden meets with Polish President Duda after Ukraine visit.Watch more videos at the Independent TV: https://www.independent.co.uk... Beijing has been positioning itself as a broker for the end of the Ukraine conflict, and has said its president Xi Jinping will deliver a “peace speech” on 24 February, the one-year anniversary of the war. [Addressing members of both houses of the Russian parliament](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/putin-live-speech-time-moscow-today-b2286293.html) in [Moscow](/topic/moscow), he said the West was supporting “traitors” who opposed Russia‘s actions, and [thanked Russians for their “courage and resolution”](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/biden-kyiv-zelenky-russia-ukraine-war-b2286259.html) in supporting what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine. [Putin announces Russia is suspending nuclear arms deal with US](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/putin-russia-nuclear-arms-deal-biden-b2286469.html) [Vladimir Putin](/topic/vladimir-putin) has [suspended Russia’s participation](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/putin-speech-cyber-attack-russia-b2286371.html) in a key arms treaty with the United States that limits the two sides’ strategic nuclear arsenals. [the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-invade-ukraine-2022-b2283643.html).

Vladimir Putin makes major address in Moscow amid events to mark the anniversary of Russia's invasion; Joe Biden expected to speak in Warsaw.

“There is the larger question of NATO force posture and the continuing commitment of the United States to play a critical role in the defence of the eastern flank allies, including Poland,” Sullivan said. After controlling 51.5% in mid-December, Russia is pushing more in this eastern area and now controls 54% of the land. “At present, a significant grouping of the Ukrainian army is concentrated in the immediate vicinity of the Belarusian-Ukrainian section of the state border,” the defence ministry said in a post on Telegram. “Poland has been a critical player in that it has been critical to hosting very large numbers of Ukrainian refugees. It now controls 40,000 sq miles of Ukrainian land, entirely in the south and east. The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, is in Kyiv to meet with Zelenskiy, and reiterate Italy’s support for the war-torn country. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, said on Tuesday that the country’s defence minister and chief of general staff were depriving his fighters of munitions, accusing them of trying to destroy Wagner. Putin said the west had begun “not just a military and information, but an economic aggression” against Russia. “The time parameters of what we have to do is measured in weeks, not months,” Borrell said. How should the west support Ukraine and how do we preserve our democratic freedoms in the uncertain years to come? On 24 February last year, Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale military invasion against Ukraine in a rapid escalation of tensions along the border. “More nuclear weapons and less arms control makes the world more dangerous,” Jens Stoltenberg said, urging Russia to reconsider its decision.

Russia has suffered a series of humiliating battlefield setbacks but is expected to launch spring offensive.

Putin claims his war, in which tens of thousands have been killed, is needed to “demilitarise” Ukraine. “In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty,” he said. Putin accused the West and Nato of wanting to “make the conflict global” in a rambling speech lasting nearly two hours ahead of the war’s one-year anniversary on Friday and praised the country’s soldiers. The Russian leader said he was suspending Russia’s participation in the New START treaty with the United States which caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy. The West and Nato reject that and accuse Putin of an unprovoked war of expansion. Putin rages against the West and praises troops in major speech on Ukraine war

The 9am GMT address by Russian President Vladimir Putin turned into a predictable rant against the West one year on from the start of his illegal invasion ...

"Putin will announce the next message shortly before the anniversary of the special military operation in Ukraine. Moreover, US President Joe Biden considered it necessary on the eve of Putin’s speech to personally fly to Kyiv and, following negotiations with Ukrainian leader Zelenskiy, announce the allocation of another $500m military aid package to the country. Some of the dignitaries shown on Russian television in the audience for Putin’s speech: Dmitri A. is seeking to inspect Russian military facilities as part of the treaty, because “the United States and NATO say directly that their goal is a strategic defeat of Russia.” I would like to repeat, they started the war, and we used force in order to stop it. The treaty was signed by Russia and the U.S. The Russian President has threatened to take the war cross-border and appeared to justify the use of nuclear weapons in the State of the Nation speech ahead of the one-year anniversary of his war in Ukraine. It was the decision to start it that became the catalyst for huge negative changes in Russia’s relations with the countries of the west. "Nobody is attacking Russia. He dismissed the treaty as a “theatre of the absurd” that the U.S. Putin says that Russia is suspending its participation in the New START nuclear weapons treaty, which is the mechanism that keeps a lid on nuclear weapons expansion. [nuclear threat to the West](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-vladimir-putin-warns-world-29270069) during a major speech today ahead of the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has defended his decision to invade Ukraine, which he said he was forced into to protect Russia from what he described as ...

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Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to take the war over borders and justified the use of nuclear weapons while addressing dignitaries during ...

He's betting on stability, but it looks like stagnation." However, people have noted he has made similar threats before. He began by saying he was addressing the nation at a time of “the most important historical events that are determining the future of our country and our people" and he insisted his decision to invade a year ago was justified. The Russian President has threatened to take the war cross-border and appeared to justify the use of nuclear weapons in the State of the Nation speech ahead of the one-year anniversary of his war in [Vladimir Putin ](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/vladimir-putin)was blacked out online across his country today as he made a [keynote bellicose speech](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-vladimir-putin-warns-world-29270069) on the war in [Ukraine](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/ukraine). Putin railed against the West in his long-delayed state-of-the-nation address - and said it was seeking to turn the war into a "global conflict".

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave no indication that he would end the war in Ukraine any time soon in his state-of-the-nation speech in Moscow on ...

The Russian economy and the management turned out to be much stronger than they thought,” he declared. The figure he provided largely seems to be in the ballpark forecast by international financial institutions. It is estimated that in 2022, Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by at least 2.2% in the best-case scenario and by up to 3.9% in the worst-case scenario. Russia’s GDP is forecast to decline by 5.6% in the worst-case scenario (OECD) or by 3.3% according to the World Bank. There are hundreds of them (…) around the world,” Putin said. “They also cannot fail to realise that it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield. “We are not fighting against the Ukrainian people,” Putin said. He also announced the creation of a “special state fund” to provide “personalised help to the families of dead fighters and the veterans of the ‘special military operation’.” Putin, however, did not give an indication of what to expect next. “We are talking about reviving enterprises and jobs in the ports of the Sea of Azov, which has again become an inland sea of Russia, and building new modern roads, as we did in Crimea”, he said, referring to the peninsula Russia invaded and annexed in 2014. “They were the ones who started the war,” Putin claimed, adding that Russia was using force “in order to stop it” and that Moscow had done “everything we could to resolve the Donbas problem peacefully”. As Friday’s anniversary of the invasion approaches, Putin again claimed that Ukraine and its Western allies had “started the war,” insisting he would not abandon the operation in Ukraine.

MOSCOW – Speaking to a joint session of the Russian parliament and Kremlin officials, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the war in Ukraine as an ...

Putin presented a now-familiar list of grievances against the West, including what he described as its moral and spiritual collapse whose values, he said, threaten the children of Russia. The U.S. It caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that Russia and the U.S. Putin acknowledged Russia's significant losses in the war and called on those present to stand for a moment of silence in their memory. "The U.S. His audience included uniformed soldiers the Kremlin said had come directly from the frontlines of Moscow's "special military operation" in Ukraine. Regular inspections under the agreement, to make sure neither side is cheating, were put on hold in March 2020 during the pandemic. The two countries have the vast majority of all deployable warheads. and NATO openly say their goal is to see Russia's strategic defeat. U.S. Missing from Putin's address was any discussion of Russia's significant setbacks on the battlefield and its evident failure in the early days of the war to occupy Kyiv and remove Ukraine's democratically elected government. MOSCOW – Speaking to a joint session of the Russian parliament and Kremlin officials, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the war in Ukraine as an existential struggle against Western forces intent on dismantling the historical territory of Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused western countries of igniting and sustaining the war in Ukraine – dismissing any blame for Moscow almost a year ...

Analysts expected Mr Putin’s speech to be tough in the wake of US President Joe Biden’s visit to Kyiv on Monday. Mr Peskov said journalists from those nations would be able to cover the speech by watching the broadcast. Many observers predicted it would also address Moscow’s fallout with the West — and Mr Putin began with strong words for those countries. While the Constitution says the president should deliver the speech annually, Mr Putin never gave one in 2022 as his troops rolled into Ukraine and suffered repeated setbacks. He said Russia is prepared to respond as “it will be a matter of our country’s existence”. In his long-delayed state-of-the-nation address, Mr Putin cast Russia — and Ukraine — as victims of western double-dealing and said Russia, not Ukraine, is the one fighting for its very existence.

Russian leader gives address on Ukraine war as conflict approaches first anniversary.

Political analyst Tatyana Stanovaya said the address “was expected to be very hawkish, aimed at defiantly breaking off relations with the West”. Mr Peskov said journalists from those nations will be able to cover the speech by watching the broadcast. While the Constitution mandates that the president deliver the speech annually, Mr Putin did not give one in 2022, as his troops rolled into Ukraine and suffered repeated setbacks.

The New START treaty was signed in Prague in 2010, came into force the following year and was extended in 2021 for five more years just after US president Joe ...

[Wagner](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/wagner), accused Russia’s defense minister and chief of general staff on Tuesday of starving his fighters in [Ukraine](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/ukraine) of ammunition, which he charged amounts to an attempt to “destroy” the force. I am grateful for this to all our warriors, all soldiers and sergeants, officers and generals who are defending the respective frontline areas,” he said in his nightly address yesterday. The invaders are using the entire range of weapons against our guys there, including CS gas grenades,” the Ukrainian president said. “Has someone given a security guarantee?” one asked, with another answering: “We did”. “You know, we could have destroyed Biden.” During his trip to Kyiv, the president promised another £500m in military aid to Ukraine. Prigozhin said in a raised voice that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov are handing out orders “left and right” not to supply Wagner with ammunition and not to support it with air transport. “This Russian shelling did not and could not have any military purpose. Discussing the US president’s trip to Kyiv on Russian state TV, the presenters claim they could have “destroyed Biden” while he was meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky. The terrorist state is trying to tell the world by firing missiles at city streets, at residential buildings, at schools, at pharmacies and hospitals, at churches, at bus stops, at markets, at power plants that terror is allegedly something to be reckoned with,” he added. Speaking in his state-of-the-nation address, Putin also said that Russia should stand ready to resume nuclear weapons tests if the U.S. Explaining his decision to suspend Russia’s obligations under New START, Putin accused the U.S. Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned fresh missile attacks on Ukrainian civilians in Kherson as he downplayed Vladimir Putin’s speech.

Putin assesses the yearlong invasion he ordered, promising to respond if Western nations send more weapons to Ukraine.

Also in today's newsletter, a 6.4 magnitude tremor hits Turkey and China's top diplomat to meet Russian officials.

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President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday vowed to continue with Russia's year-long war in Ukraine and accused the U.S.-led NATO alliance of fanning the flames of ...

Mr Putin also announced that Russia was suspending its participation in a key nuclear treaty with the US which limits the two sides' strategic nuclear arsenals.

[Ukraine](https://news.sky.com/topic/ukraine-6556) was in talks with the West about weapons before Russia invaded its neighbour on 24 February last year. The Russian president took aim at the West and said they "released the genie from the bottle" in the 10 years prior to the war, by starting others. Mr Putin announced that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty with the US, which caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy. Mr Putin said Russia decided to "protect its people and history" by conducting a "special military operation step-by-step" - as he warned that Moscow will "continue to resolve the objectives that are before us". Vladimir Putin says the West "released the genie from the bottle" in the 10 years prior to the war by starting others - and adds Moscow will "continue to resolve the objectives" of its "special military operation". Vladimir Putin has blamed the West for starting the war in Ukraine and claimed Russia responded with force "in order to stop it".

The president says he is taking Russia out of the last nuclear arms control treaty with America.

And we used force and are using force to stop it." We will react to it accordingly. "But if the US conducts tests, we will do it as well." He continues to push the false narrative that the West is to blame for the war. New Start is the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and America. As usual he blamed the West.

'I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation,' Russian leader says.

“With today’s decision on New START, the whole arms control architecture has been dismantled,” the NATO chief added. “But of course we remain ready to discuss the limitation of strategic arms at any time with Russia regardless of anything that happens in the world or in our relations.” and Russia on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms — originally entered into force in 2011, and includes limitations on systems such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and nuclear warheads on deployed ICBMs. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at the U.S. The agreement — formally called the treaty between the U.S. “I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,” he

President Vladimir Putin has given an update to Russia's political and military elite on the Ukraine conflict in front of a large crowd in a State of the ...

It seeks to limit and reduce the number of strategic offensive arms. They have the right to live their lives. Despite Russia's awful track record in relation to LGBT+ rights, he claimed: “That’s fine. Putin earlier accused Ukraine of plotting "behind our backs" for a "very different scenario" while claiming that Russia tried to resolve the Ukraine conflict by "negotiating a peaceful way out". He then claimed that Russia's "military operation" is not a war, but an intervention to "stop the war" in the Donbas. He told parliamentarians today that the "Russian economy has overcome to risks it faced". The West wants to “finish” with Russia “forever,” Putin claims. In the speech, he claimed that Russia was open to dialogue with NATO about implementing a globally-equal security system. In one section of the diatribe, he said that paedophilia has become "the norm" in the West, and made veiled homophobic statements. Within moments of taking the podium, Putin asserted that paedophilia is "announced as a normal thing" in the West. He rallied the audience, claiming that the West will do whatever it can to destroy [rambling speech](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-vladimir-putin-warns-world-29270069) was about the looming threat of a "global conflict".

The Kremlin leader said Ukraine and its allies were to blame for the invasion and that Russia 'used force in order to stop it'. Russian President Vladimir ...

[Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky](https://inews.co.uk/topic/volodymyr-zelensky?ico=in-line_link), called Mr Biden’s visit a “historic” moment as he was seen walking around Kyiv’s city centre with his US counterpart, whose visit saw air raid sirens going off and heightened security. A White House statement released upon the president’s arrival said Mr Putin was “dead wrong” to think he “could outlast” Ukraine and the West. Mr Putin said the West was fighting Russia on the economic front and wanted to make people “suffer”, but the Russian economy had proven to be “far more strong than what they thought in the West”. He compared Ukraine to Hitler’s Germany as he said “in the 1930s, Western countries opened the path for Nazi Germany to develop and in this century they do this to Ukraine”. With the conflict causing the death of thousands of civilians and troops on both sides, Mr Putin said a new fund would be set up to support the relatives of the “I have already said many times that the people of Ukraine 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,” he said. The Russian leader claimed Russia was “impossible to defeat on the battlefield” and pitted it as a clash of values between Russia and the West, arguing the West was now targeting Russia’s cultural and religious institutions. The Kremlin leader went on to say that Moscow was “sincerely open for dialogue with the West” but what it got in response were “dishonest answers”. Mr Putin said during a long and bitter address that Ukraine and its allies in the West had sparked the war and paid tribute to soliders and those who had given their lives to the conflict. [Vladimir Putin](https://inews.co.uk/topic/vladimir-putin?ico=in-line_link) suspended Moscow’s participation in a nuclear arms treaty with the US, as he blamed the West for “starting” the war in Ukraine and vowed Russia would not lose on the battlefield during a major speech on Tuesday. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that Russia’s decision to suspend participation in the Start treaty “makes the world more dangerous”, and he urged Moscow to reconsider. “Arms control is vital to the security of our planet and this is another example of Putin jeopardising global security for political gain.”

President Vladimir Putin has not only doubled down on his war of aggression in Ukraine but mapped a course for domestic politics, the economy and culture ...

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“The elites of the West do not hide their purpose... That is, they intend to transform a local conflict into a phase of global confrontation. This is exactly ...

Recent events have convincingly shown that the image of the West as a safe haven, a refuge for capital, is a phantom, a fake." In light of this, I am compelled to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty. “They distort historical facts, constantly attack our culture, the Russian Orthodox Church, and other traditional religions of our country. The US is developing new types of nuclear weapons... This is how you will multiply your capital and earn people's recognition and gratitude for generations to come… And we hear them telling their own people that the Russians are to blame... But they also cannot fail to realise that it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield.” The Russian economy and management system turned out to be much stronger than the West believed... Nato forces might have superior technology but Russia’s military currently has about 1.1 million personnel compared to China’s 2 million and the United States and India with about 1.4 million, so Moscow is neither outnumbered nor unable to maintain its security. This is exactly how we understand it all and we will react accordingly, because in this case we are talking about the existence of our country. It is not the first time Putin has accused the West of escalating the conflict, but he has ramped up his rhetoric to suggest that Britain, the United States and Europe pose an existential threat to Russia. That is, they intend to transform a local conflict into a phase of global confrontation.

The US president has given a historic speech from the gardens of Warsaw's Royal Castle in Poland a day after he made a surprise visit to Kyiv.

"He thought NATO would fracture and divide. "The questions we faced were as simple as they were profound. "The Ukrainian people were too brave. The US president has given a speech from the gardens of Warsaw's Royal Castle in Poland a day after he made a surprise visit to Kyiv. Mr Biden said Mr Putin had believed Ukraine was "weak and the West was divided" and "thought he could outlast us" but added - "he was dead wrong". He was wrong. In his address hours before Mr Biden's, Mr Putin said Russia decided to "protect its people and history" by conducting a "special military operation step-by-step" - as he warned that Moscow will "continue to resolve the objectives that are before us". Mr Biden also said Russia had committed "abhorrent" crimes in Ukraine by targeting civilians with "death and destruction" and had used rape as a "weapon of war". all democracies were being tested. "He thought he would get the Finlandization of NATO, instead he got the NATO-isation of Finland and Sweden." "I would like to emphasise when Russia tried to find a peaceful solution they were playing with the lives of people and they were playing a dirty game," Mr Putin said. Joe Biden has said Vladimir Putin expected his enemies to "roll over" when he invaded Ukraine but was met with the "iron will" of its allies - as the Russian president suspended a key nuclear treaty with the US after accusing the West of starting the war.

Speaking in Poland, Biden says "Kyiv is standing strong" nearly a year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

This man first took the decision to intimidate and then linked it to some messages from the USA and so on," Zelensky said at a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Kyiv. Agreed in 2010 and active the following year, New Start was aimed at preventing a nuclear war. American officials already believed that Moscow was failing to follow the pact. It will then be sent to the upper chamber. Defiant Biden: The US president addressed a cheering crowd during a visit to Poland. All this just days before Ukraine marks the anniversary of the Russian invasion. The president continues his speech reminding the gathered crowds that the US’ commitment is to “the future of Ukraine” which he says is free and sovereign. "As regards whether Russia is preparing for nuclear tests. because he has a long-time horizon.” it was a charade.” “He has to be convinced that he can’t win,” says Sullivan. He vowed that Russia would "never" win the war in Ukraine, and added that support for Kyiv from the US and its allies "will not waver".

In a combative speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday again blamed the West for provoking his invasion of Ukraine a year ago.

[to deliver an address from Poland](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/21/joe-biden-ukraine-russia-poland-kyiv-trip-speech/11306842002/) on his view of Russia's war in Ukraine as the conflict [approaches the one-year mark](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/19/oversight-ukraine-russia-military-aid/11271555002/). Now, they're not sure they'll go back](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/02/20/year-after-invasion-ukrainian-refugees-unsure-when-theyll-go-home/11219395002/) Large parts of his speech were focused on domestic policies connected to infrastructure spending and financial reforms. We’ll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does." Secretary of State Antony Blinken described Putin's move as "deeply unfortunate and irresponsible. He did not unveil any new military objectives connected to Ukraine. It was signed in 2010 and extended for five years in 2021. "In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty," he said. and Russia. [because of the U.S. and NATO](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/02/20/year-after-invasion-ukrainian-refugees-unsure-when-theyll-go-home/11219395002/), without specifying more. [Joe Biden walks streets of Kyiv in surprise visit](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/02/20/joe-biden-makes-surprise-visit-ukraine/11303232002/)

Confirmation that Russia will be backing out of the New Start treaty underlines his disdain for the international order, says Samantha de Bendern of the ...

Beyond the fact that Putin knew from the outset that these conditions were not acceptable to the US or to Nato, when one discusses a treaty the presumption is that both parties were involved in negotiating it, and both parties actually knew that a treaty was being drafted. Putin has cemented Russia’s withdrawal from the international order – and the imprisonment of more than 140 million Russians in an empire built on lies and bloodshed. Putin continues to make veiled nuclear threats, and did so again in this address when he stated that western declarations on ensuring a strategic defeat for Russia were an existential threat “to which we know how to react”. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? It limits the number of nuclear warheads each side is allowed to have, and provides for bilateral inspections of each other’s nuclear facilities. The official closure of the main forum for dialogue on nuclear weapons is regrettable, and increases the chances of a new nuclear arms race – but at least all sides know clearly where they stand. He praised the dramatic drop in unemployment while businesses are suffering from a dire lack of human resources due to the twin blows of mobilisation and exile. But one thing is knowable: it is impossible to negotiate with someone who uses lies and blackmail to force his opponent’s hand, because nothing he says can be trusted. He promised financial benefits to war widows and the wounded, and praised the Russian economy’s robust performance under sanctions, in a country where automobile production Not only did he fail to offer any reassurance to those who dared hope he was considering making some concessions to the truth that the operation is not going well, but he also left the radical pro-war faction hungry for a more aggressive approach. In the absence of any groundbreaking advances on the military front, many expected Putin to finally admit that Russia was at war in Ukraine. But no, the “special military operation” is ploughing on “step by step”.

Russian leader says war is about Russia's right to exist, as US president describes it as a battle for freedom, in vastly different speeches.

The capture of the whole of Ukraine, a county that had apparently fallen under the control of undemocratic western elites, was not explicitly mentioned. With the anniversary of this war so close to that of the Iraq war, regime change did not pass his lips. By contrast, Putin, in his two-hour soporific State of the Union address, placed less emphasis on universal values and more on Russia’s interests and own security. The White House was not averse to a bit of war time glitz. Biden also had the advantage of the symbolism of the venue. Both men also implicitly tied their own futures to the outcome of this war, saying their opponent was bound to lose.

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a warning on Tuesday that if the West decides to supply Ukraine with longer-range advanced weapons, it will force ...

Senator Konstantin Kosachev, the vice speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, has earlier said that thousands of lives have been lost in eastern Ukraine since 2014 because the West has treated the Minsk agreements as scrap paper. The failure of Kiev to implement the Minsk agreements has been cited by Russia as one of the reasons for Moscow launching its military operation in February 2022. He stated that it is obvious that the longer the range of Western systems that arrive in Ukraine, the further Russia will be forced to push the threat away from its borders.

The Russian president accused Western leaders of discussing the supply of nuclear weapons to Ukraine before Russia's “special military operation.” He said that ...

The US leader said that Mr Putin “thought Nato would fracture and divide. Money from shares contributes directly to keep our paper thriving. “But the autocrats of the world have grown weaker, not stronger because in the moments of great upheaval and uncertainty knowing what you stand for is most important.” He said that the “whole world was tested in its response to the war with Russia and the world would not look the other way.” Mr Putin said that as the US and Nato have stated their objective is to strategically defeat Russia, it would be “totally absurd” to allow the West to inspect Russian controlled nuclear facilities. During his State of the Nation speech, President Putin said: “I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty.”

Joe Biden proclaimed “unwavering” support for the defence of Ukraine and Nato on Tuesday, telling Vladimir Putin there would “never be a victory for Russia” ...

He said Mr Putin “no longer doubts” the strength of the western coalition at the war’s one-year mark. “He doubts whether Nato can remain unified. “President Putin is confronted with something today that he didn't think was possible a year ago. Instead, he got the Nato-isation of Finland – and Sweden. “He thought he'd get the Finland-isation of Nato. “He was wrong,” Mr Biden said.

Russian president airs grievances against west in speech devoted to first anniversary of Ukraine invasion.

The problem, of course, is that there is no change of political relations in sight.” And I would expect the US also suspending its obligations.” Putin, in his speech, promised tax breaks for businesses and government support for fighters returning from the war in Ukraine. In particular, Putin fumed over Nato support for Ukraine, and claimed the west was seeking a “strategic defeat” of Russia. The treaty also provides for joint monitoring of each side’s deployed nuclear arsenals, as well as coordination through the bilateral consultative commission. The Russian foreign ministry had summoned the new US ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, for a meeting on Tuesday, saying it had an important announcement, prompting speculation of a full withdrawal.

John Sullivan, the former US ambassador to Russia, says talks to prevent the war were "a charade".

"The Ukrainian people aren't going to forgive and forget," he says. "Beyond that I don't know," he says. "He has to be convinced that he can't win," says Mr Sullivan. "He's going to double down until he's convinced that there's just no way he can win. He interprets that as "removing the government in Kyiv and subjugating the Ukrainian people". "He can't have a democratically elected government, particularly one led by President [Volodymyr] Zelensky, in Kyiv," says Mr Sullivan.

A flood of propaganda had cleared the way for the Russian onslaught that turned the Donbas conflict into an all-out war of aggression: false, misleading ...

Dive into a full accounting of the road to war. In an analysis of the February 24 speech transcript, the team found that Putin referred more than two hundred times to the pro-Kremlin narratives, escalatory events, and emotional themes that played a key role in the runup to the war. A flood of propaganda had cleared the way for the Russian onslaught that turned the Donbas conflict into an all-out war of aggression: false, misleading narratives coming from Putin, official Kremlin channels, and pro-Kremlin Russian media outlets.

Tens of thousands of people fill Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium to hear the Russian president speak as part of the "Glory to Defenders of the Fatherland" concert ...

[first anniversary of the war](https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-as-first-anniversary-of-conflict-nears-putin-to-update-russians-on-his-plan-for-the-year-ahead-12816205) on Friday. [Russia](https://news.sky.com/topic/russia-5803) on Thursday to honour people serving in the armed forces. "To the unity of the Russian people." Huge crowds assembled in the capital as the Russian president took to the stage at the "Glory to Defenders of the Fatherland" concert, held at the Luzhniki Stadium on Wednesday. Mr Putin called on them to chant "Russia, Russia" in a show of support for those serving in the armed forces. Tens of thousands of people fill Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium to hear the Russian president speak as part of the "Glory to Defenders of the Fatherland" concert, during which he hailed "heroic" troops fighting in Ukraine.