Putin proposed a series of financial measures to support large families while also criticising “western values” for destroying “family ties”. Russia suffered two decades of gradual population decline after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a problem exacerbated by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, during which tens of thousands of Russian service personnel have been killed on the battlefield. Putin spent a considerable portion of the address discussing Russia’s population decline and the threat it poses to the country. He called for the “denazification of Ukraine”, and said Russia would do “everything to achieve all our aims”. Putin appeared to repeat his hardline stance that demanded Ukraine’s unconditional surrender after Kyiv’s lacklustre counteroffensive this summer and delays in critical US military aid to Ukraine brought on by partisan infighting in Washington DC. His comments are backed by recent Russian successes on the battlefield as delays in US and EU military aid to Ukraine have already forced its troops to scale back some military operations, further lifting the mood in Moscow.Īfter capturing the strategic north-eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka earlier this month, Russian troops have seized three more villages in the past few days, indicating a growing momentum in their advance. Photograph: Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A woman walks past a screen displaying a broadcast of Putin’s annual state of the nation address.
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