Putin has frequently justified his invasion of Ukraine by accusing Western countries of threatening Russia. They say nothing could be further from the truth, saying that Moscow’s forces attacked Ukraine unprovoked.
While the Constitution mandates that the president deliver the speech annually, Putin never gave one in 2022, as his troops rolled into Ukraine and suffered repeated setbacks. Now the address comes days before the war’s first anniversary on Friday.
Before the speech, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that the Russian leader would focus on the “special military operation” in Ukraine, as Moscow calls it, and Russia’s economy and social issues. Many observers also expect the speech to address Moscow’s fallout with the West.
The West is aware that “it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield,” so it launches “aggressive information attacks” against Russia by “misconstruing historical facts,” attacking Russian culture, religion and values, Putin said in the speech broadcast by all Russian state TV channels.
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