Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Putin's marathon speech in five points
Of: Anna Sjogren ,
Ebba Thornéus
Published: Today 08.40
Updated: Less than 2 hours ago
NEWS
On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin gave a speech to the Russian parliament - ahead of the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
He had a hard time keeping the audience awake and alert - but ended with a news story about nuclear disarmament.
Here are five main points from the speech.
1. Will continue the offensive
Putin began by pointing out that he is speaking at a time of drastic changes in the world. He then went on to promise that he will "systematically" and "step by step" continue the offensive in Ukraine, as they "defend people's lives". Putin went on to repeat his previous claims that Russia has tried to resolve the conflict in Ukraine through both diplomacy, talks and peaceful means.
According to Putin, Russia has been open to constructive dialogue with the West, which wanted to resolve the conflict peacefully, but according to him, Russia's approach has been dismissed by the West, which, according to him, has instead "fueled the war".
2. Referred to "the war"
Furthermore, Putin accuses Ukraine of having started the "war" - something he previously avoided talking about and instead referred to a "military special operation". He further notes that the Kiev regime provided artillery and other weapons to attack Donbas in 2014 and 2015 and that they continued their "terror" thereafter.
"They started the war and we used military means to stop it," Putin said in his speech, Sky News reports.
In the speech, he also claims - without referring to any evidence - that Ukraine tried to get nuclear weapons and that they "played with people's lives" while Russians died in Donbass.
3. Pauses participation in disarmament programs
During the speech, Putin also talked about weapons production and that "there is a plan for this in Russia". He also says that work on equipping the army with new weapons systems began before the operation and that work will continue. Furthermore, Putin states that the development of new weapons systems continues and he emphasizes that everything is done with own components.
“We have very advanced weapons but we will have even more. Everything is done for victory," he says.
At the end of the speech, Vladimir Putin also announced that Russia is pausing its participation in the nuclear disarmament agreement.
Photo: Sergei Karpukhin / AP
4. Admitted non-payment
Putin also commented on the dissatisfaction of the civilian population when soldiers testified that they had not received their promised payments. Putin announced that the Russian government will create a special state fund for families who lost loved ones in the war. Each family will receive a personal contact and payments at the end of the year.
"We have to work on this and improve this," Putin admitted.
5. Yawning and sleeping during the hour-long speech
About a thousand people had been invited to watch the speech on site in the Russian parliament, including members of parliament, government officials and members of the military elite. However, television images from the speech show how the majority of participants both yawn, scratch their eyes and even fall asleep during the hour-long speech.
Among the participants, one can see how the Russian Ukraine negotiator Leonid Slutsky closes his eyelids and seems to fall asleep. Putin is known for sometimes giving long speeches. The last time he gave a similar speech in April 2021, it lasted one hour and 20 minutes.
Today's speech landed in one hour and 45 minutes
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