Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly

Vladimir Putin delivering the speechatMoscow'sGostiny Dvor
Native name	Послание президента Федеральному собранию
Date	21 February 2023 (2 years ago) (2023-02-21)
Time	12:05MSK (09:05UTC)[1]
Duration	105 minutes[2][1]
Venue	Gostiny Dvor
Location	Moscow,Russia
Coordinates	55°45′14″N37°37′32″E / 55.7540°N 37.6255°E /55.7540; 37.6255
Type	Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly
Participants	Vladimir Putin

External media
Images
Television display in Luhansk[3]
Screen on Volgograd business center[3]
Digital billboard in Sevastopol[3]
Display on Leninsky Prospekt, Moscow[3]
Video
The speech, in its entirety (in Russian)[4]

On21 February 2023, almost a year after Russia launcheda full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian PresidentVladimir Putin delivered an address to theFederal Assembly, atGostiny Dvor inMoscow, Russia.^[3][5] This was the firstPresidential Address to the Federal Assembly since the start of the invasion; Putin did not deliver such an address in 2022.^[6][7][a]

During the address, Putin asserted thatthe West had started the war, and that Russia had been using force to end it.^{[9][10][11][12]} He stated that theUkrainian people were hostages of theUkrainian government.^{[6][10][13][12]} Putin also said that the West had planned to turn a local conflict into a global one, and that the conflict represented an existential threat to Russia.^[9][10][12] He added that it was impossible to defeat Russia, and vowed to continue fighting in Ukraine.^[6][10][12] He also praised the people ofLuhansk,Donetsk,Kherson, andZaporizhzhia for the choice they made duringthe previous year's annexation referendums.^[10][12] Near the end of his speech, Putin announced that Russia would be suspending its participation in thenuclear disarmament treatyNew START.^[14][1][12]

Putin's address was broadcast simultaneously on television and in schools and government buildings, as well as displayed on large screens in public places in Russia and the occupied territories of Ukraine.^[3] It was delivered a day after U.S. presidentJoe Biden madea surprise visit to Kyiv, his first to Ukraine since the start of the invasion.^{[15][16][17][b]}

On the same day but after Putin's address,CNN reported that U.S. officials had stated that a test of theSarmat, a Russianintercontinental ballistic missile, appeared to have failed shortly before the address.^[18][19] Initial reports suggested that the missile test had apparently occurred while Biden was in Ukraine, but a U.S. official later clarified that the test had occurred on18 February 2023, three days before Putin's speech.^[20][18] Prior to the test, Russia had informed the U.S. of the intended missile launch, as required by New START.^[20][18][c] U.S. officials stated that such a test was considered routine, and not an escalation of the conflict.^[20][18][24] However, Putin did not mention the missile test during his speech.^[25][18][21]

On the same day, President Biden also delivered a speech inWarsaw, Poland, hours after Putin had made his presidential address.^[26][11][15] The following day, Putin made a brief appearance ata rally at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow commemoratingDefender of the Fatherland Day.^[27][28]

• Address concerning the events in Ukraine, delivered by Putin one year previously, to the day

• Transcript on en.kremlin.ru

• 2023 speeches
• Events affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine
• 2023 in Moscow
• February 2023 in Russia
• Speeches by Vladimir Putin
• Propaganda in Russia related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

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