What specifically did Putin say in his address at the state of the nation?
President Putin attributes the battle he started a year ago to the West and Ukraine.
The following are key points from his speech to members of both chambers of parliament, military leaders, and soldiers on Tuesday:
Russian participation in the New START accord has been suspended.
Today, I am compelled to declare that Russia has decided to halt its participation in the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty.
2010 saw the signing of the New START accord in Prague. After US President Joe Biden assumed office in 2021, it was renewed for a further five years and went into effect the following year.
It places a limit on the number of strategic nuclear weapons that the US and Russia may deploy, as well as the use of bombers and missiles that are launched from land, sea, or air platforms.
Experts estimate that Russia has close to 6,000 nuclear warheads, making it the country with the greatest nuclear arsenal globally. Almost 90% of the nuclear warheads in existence are currently in the hands of Russia and the United States, which is more than enough to wipe out the whole globe.
“A watershed occasion for our nation”
“I am delivering this speech at a time when we all know is a difficult, watershed moment for our nation, a time of cardinal, irreversible changes around the world, the most significant historical events that will shape the future of our country and our people, and when each of us bears a colossal responsibility,” the speaker said.
Western nations are attempting to “distract people from themselves”
They just attempted to defend their totalitarian ideas using these democratic and free-market principles, and they also made an effort to divert attention away from economic and social issues and corruption scandals.
“The elite in the West and Ukraine are responsible,”
The blame lies with the West and the elite and government of Ukraine, who put the interests of other nations ahead of their own country by using Ukraine as a platform for military operations against Russia.
“We will be held more accountable for the security situation at the Russian border the more weaponry they supply to Ukraine. This is a typical reaction.
“We don’t fight the people of Ukraine.”
“We don’t engage in conflict with Ukrainians. They were taken prisoner by the Kyiv administration, which ruled Ukraine politically and economically. Over the years, they did everything they could to bring about this degradation. It’s terrible but true that they are employing their own employees.
Donbas is the target of “undisguised hatred” “We will tackle the challenges at hand step by step, attentively and systematically. The (people of the) Donbas have been engaged in armed conflict since 2014 to protect their right to live on their own territory and to speak their native tongue.
“Despite the blockade, ongoing shelling, and the Kyiv regime’s overt hate, they battled and did not give up. They trusted and anticipated that Russia would save them.
Nonetheless, we made every effort to resolve this issue amicably. We diligently worked to find a peaceful resolution to this extraordinarily challenging problem, but behind our backs, another scenario was being prepared.
‘Reviving businesses and jobs’ in Ukrainian territory under occupation
“We have started and will continue to establish a substantial program for the socioeconomic recovery and development of these new federation subjects (territory annexed from Ukraine). We are discussing revitalizing businesses and jobs in the ports of the Sea of Azov, which has once again turned into an inland sea of Russia, as well as constructing new, contemporary roads, similar to what we accomplished in Crimea.
I am aware of how difficult it must be for the families of troops who have died.
Putin acknowledged the hardships faced by the families of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, and he pledged “targeted support” through the creation of a new special fund.
We all understand how painfully difficult it is right now for the wives, sons, and daughters of dead troops, as well as for their parents who reared honorable patriots, and I understand it.
“Child abuse up to and including paedophilia… promoted as the norm” in Western
Putin criticized Western countries supporting Ukraine as “distorting historical truths and relentlessly attacking our culture, the Russian Orthodox Church, and other traditional religions of our country.”
The Anglican Church intends to investigate the concept of a gender-neutral God, it was learned. Millions of Westerners are aware that they are being guided toward a serious spiritual catastrophe.
“Look at what they do to their own people: the breakdown of families, of cultural and national identities, and the perversion that ranges from child abuse to pedophilia are presented as the norm… and pastors are compelled to sanction same-sex unions.
Biden’s respnose:
This is the reply to the cowardly scum who oppose democracies and support authoritarians like Putin… https://t.co/OHXO37NXyH
— Kevin J McCarthy (@KevinJMcCarthy8) February 21, 2023
