Putin vows to achieve goals in Ukraine, blames West for war

In a major speech in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin claimed that the West was responsible for "fueling the Ukrainian conflict." His address comes ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 21 vowed to press on with his war in Ukraine during a major speech to Russian lawmakers and military commanders, DW reports.

The annual state of the nation address came just days before the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of its neighbour.

What did Putin say about the war?

Putin reiterated the Kremlin's lines on launching what Moscow describes as a "special military operation" in Ukraine, saying that Russia was fighting to "liberate" people and claiming that Ukrainians "are hostages of their [own] regime."

The Russian leader also promised to continue Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. "Step by step, we will carefully and systematically solve the aims that face us."

He blamed the West for starting the conflict, saying Western countries, led by the US, were seeking "unlimited power" in world affairs.

Moscow's forces have struggled to gain the upper hand in the conflict since invading on February 24 last year. The war has killed thousands, displaced millions and reduced towns to rubble.

"The responsibility for fueling the Ukrainian conflict, for its escalation, for the number of victims ... lies completely with Western elites," Putin said.

The West has long denied Putin's claims and consistently maintained the stance that Russia's war on Ukraine was "unprovoked."

Moscow "did everything possible, genuinely everything possible, in order to solve this problem [in Ukraine] by peaceful means," Putin said. "But a completely different scenario was being prepared behind our backs."

He criticized Western attempts toward peace since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, saying the Normandy format and the Minsk agreements "are not genuine."

US says Putin chose to start war

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that "nobody is attacking Russia," in response to Putin's claims that Moscow's war on Ukraine was merely defensive.

"This was a war of choice. Putin chose to fight it. He could have chosen not to. And he can choose even now to end it, to go home," Sullivan said.

"Russia stops fighting the war in Ukraine and goes home, the war ends. Ukraine stops fighting and the United States and the coalition stops helping them fight - then Ukraine disappears from the map," he added.

Sullivan spoke hours ahead of US President Joe Biden delivering his own speech in Warsaw.

'War-time propaganda'
Roman Goncharenko, an analyst for DW's Russian service, said, "Vladimir Putin is famous for mixing facts and fiction."

Putin's message in his speech was that the West "started this war" and Russia is only using force to stop it, Goncharenko said, adding: "Which is, of course, a lie."

Putin was seeking to mobilize Russians for "an anti-Western crusade," not only by blaming the West for starting the conflict but also by making allegations such as "paedophilia is normal in the West," Goncharenko added.

DW's chief international editor Richard Walker said Putin's speech was largely "war-time propaganda," saying claims about paedophilia being a norm in the West are "almost laughable."

Walker said such messages were intended to make Russians see the West as a strategic, moral and cultural threat to their country.

While Putin did not make any explicit nuclear threats in his speech, Walker said there was a veiled "hint."

"[Putin] said that this is about the very existence of the Russian state. And in the Russian nuclear code, it says that they would only use nuclear weapons if their state's very existence was threatened," Walker said.

What else did Putin say?

In his two-hour speech, the Russian leader announced that Moscow was suspending participation in the New START nuclear disarmament treaty. He said Russia must stand ready to resume nuclear weapons tests if Washington does so.

Putin's address also came at a time when Russia's economy is under significant pressure due to sanctions imposed by the EU and its allies, leading to rising prices and gloomy prospects within the nation.

"We have already begun and will continue to build up a large-scale program for the socioeconomic recovery and development of these new subjects of the Federation (territory annexed from Ukraine)," Putin said in his address.

"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."

This is Putin's 18th such speech to the Federal Assembly, meant to outline the nation's condition and outlook. His last state of the nation address was in April 2021, before Russia invaded Ukraine.

He did not address the parliament in 2022, citing "dynamics of events."

Tuesday's speech was largely expected to set the tone for Russia's presidential elections, scheduled to take place in just over a year. Constitutional changes mean Putin, 70, could remain in power until 2036.

Setbacks on the battlefield

Russian forces have suffered three major battlefield reversals since the war began, but they still control around one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. Putin has previously said that Russia is now locked into an existential war with an arrogant West which wants to carve up Russia and steal its natural resources.

On Monday, jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny accused Putin of destroying Russia's future for the sake of his personal ambitions. "He wants to go down in history as 'the conqueror tsar',"Navalny said.