Live Updates | Russia Suspends Participation in Last Remaining Nuclear Treaty With US

Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently delivering a speech addressing the nation. Scroll down to check latest updates on Putin's Speech.

President Vladimir Putin is delivering a major speech to Russia’s elite, assessing the invasion he ordered a year ago. Putin's speech will focus on what he casts as the "special military operation" in Ukraine, give his analysis of the international situation and outline his vision of Russia's development after the West slapped on the severest sanctions in recent history.

Russian President Vladimir Putin began his address to the Federal Assembly with a familiar refrain: Russia had no choice but to attack Ukraine. Putin claimed that the West was preparing to turn Ukraine into a launchpad bristling with weapons to attack Russia, meaning that Moscow had to act before it could do so.

Stay tuned to Zee News for all the latest and live updates on Vladmir Putin's Speech

21 February 2023

16:47 IST

Putin Speech Live Updates

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty with the United States that limits the two sides' strategic nuclear arsenals. "In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty," Putin told lawmakers towards the end of a major speech to parliament, nearly one year into the war in Ukraine.

16:14 IST

Russia-Ukraine Live Updates: US Official Criticises ‘Absurdity’ of Putin’s Speech

A leading official in the United States has described Putin’s claims that the West and Kyiv are to blame for the war in Ukraine as an “absurdity.”

15:35 IST

Vladimir Putin Speech Live Updates- Russian economy has withstood Western sanctions: Putin

Putin says has all the financial resources it needs to guarantee its national security and development despite sweeping economic sanctions imposed by the West over the war in Ukraine.The Russian president said domestic companies had rebuilt their supply chains in response to the sanctions. He added that Moscow was working with other countries to build new payments systems and financial architecture.

15:25 IST

Vladimir Putin Live Updates- Those in West being led to ‘Spiritual Catastrophe’:Vladimir Putin

Putin has reiterated criticism of the West as decadent, saying it is heading for “spiritual catastrophe”.“They distort historical facts and constantly attack our culture, the Russian Orthodox Church, and other traditional religions of our country,’ Putin said.

15:22 IST

Vladimir Putin Speech Live Updates

Putin has said he understands the difficulties faced by relatives of Russian soldiers who have had died fighting in Ukraine and pledged to provide them with “targeted support” via a new special fund. “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,” the Russian president said.

15:13 IST

Vladmir Putin Speech Live Updates: Putin Moves To LGBT Rights Topics

Putin now moves on to LGBT rights, a common topic in his speeches. "Family means a union between a man and a woman," Putin says, adding that "so say the sacred texts of every religion on Earth". "But the West is doubting these sacred texts... We have to protect our children from degradation and degeneration - and we will," Putin says.

15:11 IST

Vladimir Putin Speech Live Updates

Putin says Kyiv ‘regime’ has taken Ukrainian people ‘hostage’ Putin has accused Ukraine’s leaders of taking the country’s population “hostage”, adding Kyiv is “serving the interests of foreign powers”. “The people of Ukraine themselves have become hostages of the Kyiv regime and its Western masters, who have actually occupied this country in a political, military, and economic sense,” the Russian leader said. “The regime is not serving their national interest,” he added.

15:00 IST

Vladimir Putin Speech Live Updates

Putin claims that numerous accusations were levelled against Russia during the high-profile international meeting known as the Munich Security Conference last week in an effort to shift attention from Western actions. Once more, he accuses the West of starting the conflict by "letting the genie out of the bottle" and causing global turmoil.

"Human sacrifice and tragedies are not accounted by them... They must carry on stealing from everyone, disguising themselves with slogans of democracy and freedom."

14:56 IST

Vladmir Putin Speech Live Updates

"Ukraine and Donbas have become a symbol of total lies," Putin says, accusing the West of withdrawing from "fundamental agreements" and giving "hypocritical statements" as well as expanding Nato and "covering us with an umbrella". "I want to repeat: it is them who are culpable for the war, and we are using force to stop it," Putin says to great applause.

14:49 IST

Vladimir Putin Speech Live Updates

Putin says Russia tried to settle the conflict in the Donbas region which had been simmering since early 2014 by peaceful means but was eventually forced to take action. “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,” the Russian leader said.

14:46 IST

Vladmir Putin Speech Begins Live Updates 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun his state of the nation speech in Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian leader would focus on what Moscow refers to as its “special military operation” in Ukraine and Russia’s economy and social issues. Many observers also expect the speech to address Russia’s frosty relations with the West.