Putin: "The West is Responsible for the Escalation in Ukraine... Russia Cannot Be Defeated"

State of the Nation Address Ahead of the 1st Anniversary of the War

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on the 21st (local time) regarding the Ukraine war, "The West is the one that started the war, and we were the ones trying to restrain it." President Putin specifically stated, "The West is trying to escalate a regional conflict into a global conflict. The responsibility for the escalation in Ukraine lies with the Western elites."

This is the first time since April 2021 that President Putin has delivered a State of the Nation address to the Federal Assembly. According to the Russian constitution, the president must announce the state of the nation and major domestic and foreign policy directions annually through the State of the Nation address to the Federal Assembly, but President Putin canceled the address after the invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to foreign media including Reuters, in his State of the Nation address, President Putin said, "Ukraine discussed arms supplies with the West even before the war." Regarding this, President Putin added that in December 2021, just before the war, Russia conveyed its position on security guarantees to the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but the West rejected all of them.

President Putin reiterated the position that the West is scheming the war, and Russia is defending its national interests and the world order against it. He said, "The purpose of the anti-Russian policy is to start a war in Europe and eliminate competitors." Accordingly, he stated that Russia is currently going through a difficult and decisive period, and the entire world is facing a time of significant change.

He accused, "The Western elites do not hide their intention to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia and completely destroy Russia." At the same time, he emphasized, "The existence of Russia is under threat," but "the majority of our people support our operations to defend Donbas. It is impossible to defeat us."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.