'They started the war': Russia's Putin blames West and Ukraine for provoking conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin connected Tuesday utilized a widely-watched code to contradict work for the warfare successful Ukraine and lash retired astatine his adversaries.

Putin claimed Russia had been attempting to let citizens successful the contested Donbas portion to talk their "own language" and had attempted to resoluteness the struggle peacefully.

He besides cited the enlargement of NATO and caller European anti-rocket defence systems arsenic provoking Russia.

"We had nary uncertainty that by February 2022, everything was prepared for a punitive enactment successful Donbas, wherever [the] Kyiv authorities provided artillery and aviation and different weapons to onslaught Donbas successful 2014. In 2015, they attempted again to straight onslaught Donbas, they continued shelling, terror," helium said.

"All of this was wholly against the documents that were accepted by the United Nations Security Council. I would similar to repeat: they started the war. And we utilized the unit successful bid to halt it."

Russian forces entered Ukraine in 2014, resulting successful the annexation of Crimea. The penetration was wide condemned by the planetary assemblage and resulted successful rounds of Western sanctions against Russian officials.

Putin's "state of the nation" code is being delivered successful Moscow to lawmakers and subject officials and being broadcast connected authorities TV.

Feb. 24 volition people 1 twelvemonth since Russia mounted a large-scale penetration of Ukraine, opening a crushed warfare successful Europe that Putin inactive refers to arsenic a "special subject operation." Intense fighting continues crossed the war-torn nation.

U.S. President Joe Biden made a astonishment visit to the Ukrainian superior Kyiv connected Monday, wherever helium met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Biden said the travel was to "reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging committedness to Ukraine's democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity." He besides promised to present much artillery ammunition and anti-armor systems, and to denote caller sanctions connected Russian companies and its elites.

Biden is owed to present different speech, pointedly pursuing Putin's, successful Poland. He is besides gathering with Polish President Andrzej Duda.