West started the war, we are using force to end it: Russian President Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin railed against the West in his longdelayed stateofthenation address on Tuesday a speech expected to shed light on how the Kremlin sees its boggeddown war in Ukraine and set the tone for the year aheadPutin has frequently justified his invasion of his neighbour by accusing Western countries of threatening Russia They say nothing could be further from the truth and that Moscows forces attacked Ukraine unprovokedIts they who have started the war And we are using force to end it Putin said before an audience of lawmakers state officials and soldiers who have fought in UkraineWhile the Constitution mandates that the president deliver the speech annually Putin never gave one in 2022 as his troops rolled into Ukraine and suffered repeated setbacks Now the address comes days before the wars first anniversary on FridayAlso readMumbai Conservation panel gives goahead for Bhikha Behram Well repairsBefore 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 Russias economy and social issues Many observers predicted it would also address Moscows fallout with the West and Putin began with strong words for those countriesThe West is aware that it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield so it launches aggressive information attacks by misconstruing historical facts attacking Russian culture religion and values Putin said in the speech broadcast by all state TV channelsCiting another justification he has used for the war Putin claimed his forces are protecting civilians in regions of Ukraine that Moscow has since illegally annexedWe are defending peoples lives our home he said And the West is striving for an unlimited dominationUnderscoring the anticipation ahead of time some state TV channels put out a countdown for the event starting Monday and Russias state news agency RIA Novosti on Tuesday morning said the address may be historicThe 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 broadcastSenior Russian lawmaker and leader of the nationalist LDPR party Leonid Slutsky was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying that Putin would set priorities that will deprive our enemies of the hope to defeat Russia weaken it or try to subdue it to their neocolonial leadershipPolitical analyst Tatyana Stanovaya said the address was expected to be very hawkish aimed at defiantly breaking off relations with the West In the wake of US President Joe Bidens visit to Kyiv on Monday additional edits can be made to make it even harsherPeskov told reporters that the speechs delay had to do with Putins work schedule but Russian media reports linked it to the multiple setbacks Russian forces have suffered on the battlefield in UkraineThe Russian president had postponed the stateofthenation address before In 2017 the speech was rescheduled for early 2018Last year the Kremlin has also cancelled two other big annual events Putins press conference and a highly scripted phonein marathon where people ask the president questionsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever