The long-standing New START agreement, which restricts Russian and American nuclear development, has been unilaterally suspended, according to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who described Western support for Ukraine amid a continuing Russian invasion as that of an existential threat to Russia in a nearly two-hour speech on Tuesday.
In addition, Putin used the opportunity to reaffirm his charge that the ideology of the current Ukrainian government under Volodymyr Zelensky was “neo-Nazi,” denounce “perversion” and “spiritual catastrophe” in the West, and specifically criticize the Anglican Church for purportedly considering “the idea of a gender-neutral God.”
The Russian president made his comments during his annual State of the Nation address, which is mandated by Russian law. But Putin hasn’t given the address since April 2021, and he said late last year that he would be delaying all public appearances, including his customary marathon press conference in December.
The majority of Putin’s remarks focused on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which started in 2014 but intensified through a “special military operation” launched on Feb. 24, 2022, to a full-scale national attack on the nation. Although Western nations forbade Ukraine from accepting such a settlement, Putin stated that his administration “tried all possible, really everything possible to solve this crisis by diplomatic means.” In his analysis of the ongoing invasion of the nation, he did not appear to take into account Russia’s invasion and colonization of Crimea in 2014, which drew no substantial response from the government of then-President Barack Obama.
“I’ll say it again: They started the conflict, and we had to use force to put an end to it,” said Putin.
Putin announced the termination of the Obama-era deal known as the New START agreement during his speech.
He accused the United States and the larger West of trying to wipe out Russia as a whole, saying, “I am forced to officially announce today that Russia is withdrawing its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.”
According to Putin, “The West exploits Ukraine as a drive against Russia.”
“The Western elite’s intention to hand Russia a tactical loss is not hidden from view. It entails destroying us permanently and escalating a regional confrontation into a global conflict,” said Putin. “This is exactly how we interpret it all, and we will respond accordingly, as the existence of our nation is at stake in this situation.”
