Putin delivers state of the nation speech ahead of Ukraine invasion anniversary

Russian President Vladimir Putin took aim at the United States during his annual state of the nation address to the Russian people and Federal Assembly on Tuesday, repeatedly claiming of the West, "They started the war."

Ahead of Friday's one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, Putin claimed that the Ukrainian people have been "hostages of their Western masters," and by doing so, continues to portray the conflict as Russia defending itself against the West and its proxies in Kyiv, rather than Ukraine defending its sovereignty from its eastern neighbor and historical overlord.

As he often does in his speeches, Putin evoked defining historical moments to defend his country's decisions, comparing the West allowing Nazi Germany to rise in the 1930s with the West now using anyone, "Nazis, terrorists, even the devil himself" in order to fight Russia.

Putin contrasted the values of Russia with those he believes are burgeoning in the United States, mentioning pedophilia, among other things, that show the "degradation" of the West.