Russia will continue to build up its nuclear forces and will begin mass deliveries of Zircon sea-launched hypersonic missiles, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
In an address to mark Thursday's Defender of the Fatherland public holiday, Mr Putin also said Russia would continue equipping its armed forces with advanced equipment.
Two days earlier, he announced that Russia would suspend the New Start treaty, its last remaining arms control agreement with the US that limits each country's arsenal of nuclear warheads.
“As before, we will pay increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad,” said Mr Putin, referring to nuclear missiles based on land, in the sea and in the air.
“We will continue mass production of air-based hypersonic Kinzhal systems and will start mass supplies of sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles.”
On Wednesday, Mr Putin made a hotly anticipated appearance on stage at a concert called “Glory to the Defenders of the Fatherland”, held on the eve of the eponymous holiday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers state of the nation address — in pictures
-
Russian President Vladimir Putin gives his annual address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow. Reuters -
He used his speech to accuse the West of playing a dirty game over Ukraine. Reuters -
The televised address reached millions of homes in Russia. EPA -
It was even broadcast on large outdoor screens such as this one in Moscow. AFP -
Mr Putin strides on to the stage. Reuters -
He claimed Russia wanted to solve the conflict in Ukraine peacefully but western countries had conspired to prepare a 'different scenario'. AFP -
People gather for the state of the nation speech at Gostiny Dvor conference centre in Moscow. EPA -
Police officers block the streets outside the Gostiny Dvor venue. AFP
Waving Russian flags, the crowd cheered as he delivered a short speech saying Russia was fighting for its “historical lands” in Ukraine.
Spectators braved the cold on a clear and crisp winter's day in Moscow, where temperatures plunged to minus 15°C.
The concert included performances of patriotic or military songs and speeches from soldiers.
“We need to support our country, our President, the men who are right now defending our country,” said Uliana, a 47-year-old lawyer, preferring not to give her surname.
“What is happening right now, the consolidation of national unity, reminds us of the Great Patriotic War,” she added, using Russia's term for the Second World War.
One year of the Russia-Ukraine war — in pictures
-
February 24 will be a year since Russia started the Ukraine war. The National picks out the most powerful images from the conflict. AFP -
A member of Ukraine's 79th Air Assault Brigade fires a rocket-propelled grenade at Russian positions near Marinka in February. Reuters -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses MPs in Westminster Hall, London, in February 2023. Getty Images -
Destroyed buildings 32km west of the front lines in Donetsk in January. Getty Images -
An anti-aircraft gun in January fires at Russian positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk. Reuters -
Destruction in the village of Bohorodychne, Donetsk. AFP -
A Ukrainian artilleryman discards an empty shell on the outskirts of Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine, in December 2022. AFP -
Children receive presents from a Ukrainian soldier dressed as Santa on Christmas Eve in Sloviansk. Getty Images -
More than 1,000 missiles and rockets fired by Russian forces collected for cataloguing in Kharkiv in December 2022. Getty Images -
The Metro provides shelter as Russia launches another missile attack on Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, in December 2022. Getty Images -
Children at a PE class in Kyiv after Russia abandoned its attempt to seize the capital in November 2022. Getty Images -
A sniper searches for Russian positions on the bank of the Dnipro river in Kherson in November 2022. Getty Images -
Graffiti by Banksy on a wall among the debris in Borodyanka in November 2022. Getty Images -
Ukrainian flags flutter around graves in a cemetery for soldiers killed in action in Kharkiv in October 2022. Getty Images -
Parts of a drone, which Ukrainian authorities said was Iranian-made, after a Russian strike in Kyiv in October 2022. Reuters -
An elderly woman is helped across a damaged bridge in Bakhmut in October 2022. Getty Images -
Fuel tanks ablaze on damaged sections of the Kerch bridge in Crimea, in October 2022. Reuters -
A destroyed bridge makes crossing the Donets river difficult, in Staryi Saltiv, east of Kharkiv, in September 2022. AFP -
Firefighters at a thermal power plant in Kharkiv damaged by a Russian missile strike in September 2022. Reuters -
Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr with his daughter Nikole at Lviv railway station in August 2022. Getty Images -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then-British prime minister Boris Johnson read a plaque in Kyiv in August 2022 dedicated to the latter for his support. Getty Images -
Destroyed Russian military equipment on Khreshchatyk street in Kyiv. The materiel was turned into an open-air military museum ahead of Ukraine's Independence Day on August 24. AFP -
Shakhtar Donetsk v Metalist Kharkiv kicks off the Ukrainian Premier League season in August 2022 amid fears of bomb and missile alerts. EPA -
Ukrainian servicemen fire an American-made 155mm M777 howitzer in July 2022 in the Kharkiv area. EPA -
A bomb crater on the Antonovsky bridge across the Dnipro river in Kherson, July 2022. AFP -
Maksym and Andrii with plastic guns at a 'checkpoint' they set up while playing in Kharkiv, July 2022. AP -
Ukrainian troops on Snake Island in June 2022. Reuters -
A woman evacuated from an area of conflict in June 2022 contemplates what the next move might be. AP -
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Kyiv in June 2022. Getty Images -
Graves in Irpin cemetery, May 2022. Getty Images -
A Ukrainian soldier trapped within the besieged Azovstal Iron and Steel Works complex in Mariupol in May 2022. Reuters -
The wreckage of a Russian helicopter in a bomb-cratered field in Biskvitne, May 2022. Getty Images -
A Ukrainian army officer inspects a grain warehouse shelled by Russian forces in May 2022 near Novovorontsovka, Kherson. Getty Images -
A boy from Mariupol arriving at an evacuation point in Zaporizhzhia in May 2022. Getty Images -
A Russian serviceman on guard outside Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in May 2022. AFP -
Oksana searches for salvageable items on the destroyed second floor of her home in Hostomel, April 2022. Getty Images -
A floral memorial wall in Lviv for Ukrainian civilians killed during the Russian invasion, April 2022. Getty Images -
People fleeing Lviv, eastern Ukraine, in April 2022, wait for a bus that will take them to Poland. Getty Images -
A Russian soldier patrols a bombed Mariupol theatre in April 2022, as Moscow intensified its campaign to take the strategic port city. AFP -
A Ukrainian celebrates success in Hostomel in April 2022. Getty Images -
Julia Palovskaya reads to children during an air raid drill in the basement shelter at a preschool in Lviv, April 2022. Getty Images -
Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Bucha in April 2022, where hundreds of bodies were found in the street and it was claimed the Russian leadership was responsible for killing civilians. AFP -
Oleh Smolin, 23, who suffered leg injuries from Russian shelling in April 2022, in hospital in Chuhuiv. Getty Images -
Fleeing refugees arrive at the border train station of Zahony, Hungary, in March 2022. Getty Images -
A father says goodbye to his daughter on an evacuation train about to leave Odesa in March 2022. AFP -
Ukrainians under a destroyed bridge as they try to cross the Irpin river on the outskirts of Kyiv in March 2022. AP -
People cram into Kyiv station to catch trains to Poland or to western parts of Ukraine, shortly after the initial invasion in February 2022. Getty Images -
A demonstration in support of Ukraine in Trafalgar Square, London, February 2022 . Getty Images -
Russian army vehicles in Armyansk, Crimea, in February 2022. AFP -
Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on February 25, 2022, in a video on Facebook. He said 'we are all here', shortly after the Russian invasion began. AFP -
A residential building damaged by a missile strike in Kyiv in February 2022. Getty Images -
A metro station in Kyiv in February 2022, crowded with people trying to escape the invasion. AFP -
A police officer addresses people gathered to protest against the invasion of Ukraine, in central Saint Petersburg, Russia, February 2022. AFP -
A protester in support of Ukraine, in Berlin, Germany, in February 2022. Getty Images -
Ukrainian soldiers prepare to repel an attack in Ukraine's Lugansk region on February 24, 2022. AFP -
Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on February 24, 2022, after Russia launched a full-scale invasion. AFP -
A mass exodus from Kyiv after pre-offensive missile strikes by Russian armed forces on February 24, 2022. Getty Images -
Security personnel inspect the remains of a shell in Kyiv on February 24, 2022, soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine. AFP -
CCTV footage shows Russian military equipment crossing a Crimea border checkpoint on February 24, 2022. AFP -
Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin early on February 24, 2022, when he announced a 'military operation' in Ukraine. AFP
The Kremlin has frequently drawn parallels between what it calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine and the war against Nazi Germany, saying the offensive was launched to “denazify” Ukraine.
Nearly a year since Russia sent troops to Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Kremlin is trying to drum up support for the ongoing fighting, characterising its campaign as a wider conflict against the West.
“Right now, a war of survival is ongoing, aimed at destroying Russia- … The decisive phase of this fight against the West is beginning,” said Ivan Tkachev, a 47-year-old musician attending the rally with his two daughters.
During the concert, children were brought up on stage, introduced by the hosts as young Ukrainians “rescued” by a Russian soldier and brought to safety in Russia during the battle for Mariupol.
Putin: The West is threatening Russia's existence with Ukraine war — video
The port city on the shores of the Sea of Azov was devastated by a long siege and became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.
Ukraine has accused Russia of kidnapping thousands of Ukrainian children from the territories it controls, something Moscow has denied, insisting it organised legal adoptions.
After more than an hour of waiting in the freezing cold, spectators welcomed Mr Putin on stage with chants of “Russia”.
“I told you he'd come!” a man exclaimed to his wife, hugging her.
The Russian leader, wearing a fur-lined coat, addressed the crowd, saying: “I just heard from the top military leadership of the country that a battle is ongoing right now for our historical lands, for our people.”
He also praised Russian servicemen in Ukraine who are “fighting heroically, courageously, bravely — we are proud of them”.
The Russian national anthem played and Mr Putin left the stage.
“Impressive, as always,” said Andrey Moiseyev, an 18-year-old student, who said it was the first time he had seen the President in person.
“It's great for stirring up the patriotic spirit, it shows us the direction to take and we're going there together.”
He added that if he is called up to fight in Ukraine, he will go.
