(CNN) — Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the country’s Federal Assembly in Moscow.
In his first speech to both chambers of parliament in almost two years, Putin said Russia had done “everything possible” to resolve the conflict in Donbass peacefully.
“We have done absolutely everything to resolve this issue peacefully. Very patient and careful negotiations to put an end to this very difficult situation,” Putin said in his annual address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow.
“But a new scenario was unleashed and the peace initiatives were completely undermined by lies and hypocrisy, and the West ignored the hypocrisy and murderous regime in Kiev and the terrorist activities unleashed in Donbas. ‘ said Putin.
“They supplied the terrorists with weapons, and even before the military special operation, they had received heavy artillery and air defense systems,” Putin said. “The West has prepared Ukraine for this campaign and they have actually spoken about it blatantly and openly, they do not hide this fact.”
Putin continued: “I would like to repeat: it was you who unleashed the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on an exterior display on a building facade delivering his annual State of the Union address February 21 in Moscow, Russia. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images)
The Russian leader began his address to the Federal Assembly with a familiar refrain: Russia has no choice but to attack Ukraine.
He claimed that invading Ukraine was necessary to defend Russia as the West was preparing to turn Ukraine into a launch pad full of weapons to attack its country, meaning Moscow must act before it could.
This is reminiscent of his February 24 speech last year when he argued that Russia had no choice but to use force against Ukraine.
“They left us no other option to defend Russia and our people than what we are forced to do today,” he said at the time.
“Under these circumstances, we must take bold and immediate action. The People’s Republics of Donbass have asked Russia for help.”
On Tuesday, Putin also reiterated baseless claims that Ukraine was pushing for nuclear weapons, reinforcing his portrayal of the invasion as a preventive and defensive measure.
Putin assured that Russia “will be forced to remove the threat from its borders” while “longer-range western weapon systems” continue to reach Ukraine.
“As western longer-range weapon systems reach Ukraine, we will be even more compelled to move the threat away from our borders,” Putin told the Russian elite.
The Russian President accused Ukraine and its Western allies of conducting “increasingly aggressive information attacks” against Russia.
The speech also included a minute’s silence to commemorate the Russians who died in the conflict.
“I want to thank everyone, the Russian people for their courage and my heroes in the armed forces, the border guards and all security services, especially their Donetsk and Lugansk squads,” Putin added in his speech to the Federal Assembly in Moscow.
Addressing the citizens of the four regions Russia has annexed, Putin said, “Nothing was stronger than your determination to stand by Russia, by your homeland.” The audience responded with a standing ovation.
criticism of NATO
Putin reiterated his criticism of the expansion of the NATO military alliance, which he repeatedly used as a pretext for invading Ukraine.
“We have been open, frank and sincere because we wanted an open dialogue with the West and we have said many times that the world needs indivisible security and we invite all countries of the world to talk about it,” Putin said.
“But the only answer we received was a hypocritical and incomprehensible answer, as well as very concrete concrete measures: the expansion of NATO, the so-called defense umbrella of our country and Central Asia.”
“You won’t stop. The threat continues every day,” Putin said. “And they are preparing for bloodshed in the Donbass.”
The Donbass includes the Lugansk and Donetsk regions in eastern Ukraine.
“The Western elite does not hide its ambition to strategically defeat Russia. What does that mean? It means ending yourself once and for all,” Putin said. “They do that by turning local conflicts into much larger and broader conflicts.”
Putin added that the US in particular sees the conflict in Ukraine “as an anti-Russian project”.
“The goal is to take these historically Russian lands from us,” Putin added. “Nothing has changed. It’s just a matter of continuing with the same policy.”
He gave Putin’s longest speech to the Federal Assembly in 2018. According to the Russian state news agency TASS, he gave his last speech in this format in April 2021. In 2022 he did not give a speech.