One year on from the invasion Putin addresses the Russian nation

In a speech on the eve of the anniversary of Russia´s invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has addressed the nation, a speech that opened with the admission that the last year had been tough.

Putin, whose address was televised on Tuesday, February 21, repeated his view that Russia did not start the war saying: “I would like to repeat, they started the war and we used force in order to stop it.”

Claiming that the West was looking to arm Ukraine before the conflict, the West had a strict policy of not providing weapons to could be used in an offensive, he adds: “I would like to emphasise when Russia tried to find a peaceful solution they were playing with the lives of people and they were playing a dirty game.”

Continuing he said that Russia had to “protect its people and history” by conducting the “special military operation step-by-step.”

He added that Russia will continue with the invasion until they achieve the objectives they set, confirming what western analysts have been saying that Russia has settled in for the long run.

Pushing long-voiced rhetoric he claimed the West was trying to destroy Russia´s image to hide their own corruption and socio-economic problems. He then accused the West of collapsing their own economies by using sanctions to bring suffering to the Russian people.

He added that sanctions had not caused any damage to the country and that government investment had overcome the problem of sanctions.

Putin:

"It's the West who started the war." pic.twitter.com/5v06dGmyAj

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 21, 2023

The death toll

Putin addressed the issue of soldiers who had lost their lives but did not quantify how many. Rather he used the opportunity to say that the government needed to do more to help the families who had lost loved ones.

Industry and armaments

Putin indicated that he believed Russia could once more become self-sufficient as they were in Soviet times, that they can produce their own technology. He furthermore expressed the belief that Russia can produce better equipment than the West, however, he failed to address the brain drain that has seen many of the country´s bright minds leave for Europe and elsewhere.

Oligarchs and investment

Continuing to touch on issues economic he called on oligarchs to invest in Russia, saying the government will support them.

Elections

More than an hour and a half into the speech, Putin has said free and fair elections will be held next year in accordance with democratic constitutional principles. Once again though he failed to address how imprisoning the opposition can be regarded as free and fair elections.

Putin´s long and drawn-out address offered little one year on from the invasion, a true politician’s speech aimed at the masses. Will it have convinced an increasingly sceptical population affected more and more by the loss of husbands, sons, friends and neighbours?

Putin's audience is fascinated by his stories. pic.twitter.com/TlgdmIVNJW

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) February 21, 2023

In the words of Sky News political editor Dominic Waghorn: “Putin’s phenomenally dull speech will not be a hard act for Biden to follow.”

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