Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Western countries of igniting and sustaining the war in Ukraine, dismissing any blame for Moscow almost a year after the Kremlin's unprovoked invasion of its neighbor that has killed tens of thousands of people.
In his long-delayed state-of-the-nation address, Putin cast Russia - and Ukraine - as victims of Western double-dealing and said Russia, not Ukraine, was the one fighting for its very existence.
Instead, he offered his personalized version of recent history, which discounted arguments by the Ukrainian government that it needed Western help to thwart a Russian military takeover. Before the speech, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov 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 predicted it would also address Moscow's fallout with the West - and Putin began with strong words for those countries.
Putin also said that Russia would suspend its participation in a treaty aimed at keeping a lid on nuclear weapons expansion. The so-called New START Treaty was signed by Russia and the U.S. in 2010. It caps the number of long-range nuclear warheads they can deploy and limits the use of missiles that can carry atomic weapons.
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