In a fiery state-of-the-nation address, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the West for starting the war in Ukraine, suggesting the United States and its allies want to transform the local war into a wider global conflict.."Western elites aren't trying to conceal their goals, to inflict a 'strategic defeat' to Russia," Putin said in the speech on Tuesday. "They intend to transform the local conflict into a global confrontation.".In his speech, Putin announced the suspension of the country's participation in the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the US, which placed limits on the number of long-range nuclear warheads they could deploy. The treaty was last extended in early 2021 for five years, meaning the countries must soon renegotiate the treaty..Under New START, the US and Russia were permitted to conduct inspections of each other's nuclear weapons sites. But the US has accused Russia of refusing to allow inspections..Putin's speech comes nearly one year after the country launched a "special military operation" against Ukraine, initiating a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and upended the international order..The Russian president placed blame on Ukraine and its NATO allies for the conflict, claiming while Russia aimed to resolve the smaller conflict in Ukraine's Donbas region in a peaceful manner, Ukraine was preparing a "completely different scenario."."Ukraine held talks with the West about weapons supplies, including planes and heavy weaponry, before Russia's special military operation," Putin said, adding Ukraine previously attempted to acquire nuclear weapons..Putin also slammed NATO for its expansion along Russia's borders. the defence alliance added former Soviet republics such as Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Croatia, after promising not to do so in 1991.."They are not going to stop. The threat continues every day," Putin said..Putin declared the war in Ukraine effectively became a war against Kyiv's "Western masters, which have effectively occupied the country." He also accused the US of using the conflict in Ukraine as a "anti-Russian project" to eventually seize "historically Russian lands.".Putin also accused the West of launching "aggressive information attacks" at Russian culture, religion and values because it knows "it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield.".Putin criticized the West for promoting pedophilia and the destruction of families through its acceptance of the LGBTQ agenda.."See what they do with their own peoples — the destruction of the family, cultural and national identity, perversion, mockery of children and pedophilia are declared the norm," Putin said. “Look at the Holy Scriptures … the family is a union of a man and a woman.”.Putin said soldiers across Russia are currently fighting shoulder-to-shoulder on the front line, and while their prayers are heard in different languages, "all of them are for victory, for comrades-in-arms and for the Motherland."."Russia will respond to any challenges because we are all one country, one united people and we are confident in our abilities," Putin said.
