2023 Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly

On 21 February 2023, almost a year after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered an address to the Federal Assembly, at Gostiny Dvor in Moscow, Russia.^[3][5] This was the first Presidential 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 that the West had started the war, and that Russia had been using force to end it.^{[9][10][11][12]} He stated that the Ukrainian people were hostages of the Ukrainian 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 of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia for the choice they made during the previous year's annexation referendums.^[10][12] Near the end of his speech, Putin announced that Russia would be suspending its participation in the nuclear disarmament treaty New 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. president Joe Biden made a 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 the Sarmat, a Russian intercontinental 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 on 18 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 in Warsaw, Poland, hours after Putin had made his presidential address.^[26][11][15] The following day, Putin made a brief appearance at a rally at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow commemorating Defender 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