Russian President Vladimir Putin Vows to Continue Ukraine Offensive, Accuses US Of Complicating Things

KREMLIN: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday delivered his long-delayed State-of-the-Nation address - a speech that many anticipated will set the tone for the year ahead and shed light on how the Kremlin sees its bogged-down war in Ukraine. During his speech, the Russian President accused the West of ''complicating things'' for Moscow at a time when it was willing to negotiate a peaceful way to end the bloodier military conflict with Ukraine.

The Russian President álso vowed to "systematically" press on with Moscow's offensive in Ukraine, as he delivered his state of the nation address. "Step by step, we will carefully and systematically solve the aims that face us," Putin said ahead of the first anniversary of the military intervention.

 

We were doing everything possible to solve this problem peacefully, negotiating a peaceful way out of this difficult conflict, but behind our backs, a very different scenario was being prepared: Russian President Vladimir Putin pic.twitter.com/ZY8p1nEf84 — ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2023

 

Putin Blames West for Escalation in Ukraine

 

He also said that the West was "completely responsible" for the escalation of conflict in Ukraine. Putin alleged that Western countries sought to turn the Ukraine conflict into a global confrontation with Russia and that Moscow's existence was at stake. "They intend to translate the local conflict into a global confrontation, we understand it this way and will react accordingly," Putin told lawmakers.

His speech came a day after US President Joe Biden's secret visit to Ukraine. Putin began his speech by saying he will be "speaking during a complicated and frontier time for our country during a time of drastic changes in our world."

Last year, Putin never delivered a state of the Nation address as his troops rolled into Ukraine and suffered repeated setbacks. Now, this address comes days before the war's first anniversary on Friday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier 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 expected the speech to address Moscow's fallout with the West.

Unfriendly Media Barred Form Coverage 

 

The Kremlin this year has barred media from “unfriendly” countries, the list of which includes the US, the UK and those in the EU. Peskov said journalists from those nations will be able to cover the speech by watching the broadcast.

The Russian president had postponed the state-of-the-nation address before: In 2017, the speech was rescheduled for early 2018. Last year the Kremlin has also cancelled two other big annual events - Putin's press conference and a highly scripted phone-in marathon where people ask the president questions.