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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

Shortly before the first anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine he ordered, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the West for the war during his highly anticipated State of the Nation address. "They started the war," Putin said on Tuesday, referring to Western states at the beginning of his speech. Russia was merely trying to stop the fighting, the Russian leader claimed in his address to representatives of the Federal Assembly state legislature.

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

"They intend to translate the local conflict into a global confrontation, we understand it this way and will react accordingly," Putin told lawmakers.

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

"They want to make the people suffer... but their calculation did not materialise. The Russian economy and the management turned out to be much stronger than they thought," Putin told lawmakers in a speech.

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

He said that Russia wanted to solve the conflict in Ukraine peacefully but that Western countries had prepared a "different scenario" behind its back.

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

"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," Putin told lawmakers from Russia's parliament.

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

He also vowed to "systematically" press on with Moscow's offensive in Ukraine, as he gave his state of the nation address.

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of 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.

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

Putin added that Russia would never yield to Western attempts to divide its society, using a major speech before the country's two houses of parliament to say the majority of Russians support his military campaign in Ukraine.

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

He said the West was supporting "traitors" who opposed Russia's actions, and thanked Russians for their "courage and resolution" in supporting what Moscow calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, accusing the West of wanting "to be done with" Russia.

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

"Western elites are not hiding their goal - to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. It means to be done with us once and for all," Putin said ahead of the first anniversary of the military intervention.

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

Putin said the more long-range weapons systems supplied to Ukraine, the further Moscow will push the threat away from Russian borders.

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

Putin added that he understood how difficult it was for relatives of Russian soldiers who had died fighting in Ukraine, and said he would provide them "targeted support" with a new special fund.

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

"We all understand, I understand how unbearably hard it is now for the wives, sons, daughters of fallen soldiers, their parents, who raised worthy defenders of the Fatherland."

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

Friday will mark one year since Russia officially launched its full-scale war against Ukraine.

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Putin blames West for war against Ukraine in State of Nation address

Putin's appearance was his 18th State of the Nation address to date. The previous one was almost two years ago and took place in April 2021. There was none last year, which Putin had explained due to a very high "dynamics of events."