In his scathing state of the nation address to Russian lawmakers, Putin also vowed that Russia would keep fighting in Ukraine ahead of the first anniversary of the military campaign.
Accusing Western powers of wanting “to be done with us once and for all”, he said Russia was “forced” to suspend the New START treaty but would not pull out of the agreement altogether.
What is START Treaty?
The 2010 treaty is the last major US-Russia arms control pact still in force but it has frayed in recent years, with accusations from Washington that Moscow was not complying with it.
‘Step by Step’
Putin was speaking a day after US President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv in which he promised additional arms deliveries for Ukraine, and ahead of a speech by Biden in Warsaw.
Referring to the conflict in Ukraine, Putin said: “step by step, we will carefully and systematically solve the aims that face us”.
He said it was “impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield”.
“The responsibility for fuelling the Ukrainian conflict, for its escalation, for the number of victims… lies completely with Western elites,” Putin said.
How Did US React?
A top US official described as an “absurdity” Putin’s accusations that Russia had been threatened by the West as justification for sending troops into Ukraine.
“Nobody is attacking Russia. There’s a kind of absurdity in the notion that Russia was under some form of military threat from Ukraine or anyone else,” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters in Warsaw.
‘It’s the Western Economy Suffering’
Putin also issued a warning to critics within Russia, saying: “Those who have embarked on the path of betrayal of Russia must be held accountable under the law”.
Turning to the economy, Putin said sanctions against Russia had not succeeded and were in fact hurting the West by raising energy prices.
“They have not succeeded and will not succeed,” he said.
“The Russian economy has proved much more resilient than the West expected.”
Russian official data on Monday showed the economy contracted by 2.1 percent last year despite sanctions — far less than had been expected.
Biden is due to deliver his own speech at around 1630 GMT after talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda, who has been a key advocate for Ukraine within the EU and NATO.
From Warsaw’s historic Royal Castle, Biden will “make it clear that the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine… for as long as it takes”, according to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, who spoke to reporters last week.
A Geopolitical Change
The war has heightened conflicts and confrontation, as well as the existing global tendency for countries to form into blocs centred on Washington and Beijing. Putin’s speech reflected the same tendencies.
“We’ve shifted into a disordered multipolar world where everything is a weapon: energy, data, infrastructure, migration,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in December, as per an AFP report.
“Geopolitics is the vital word, everything is geopolitics.”
Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Balkans, Africa and the Asia-Pacific have been theatres of battle for influence between powers like China, the EU, Russia and Turkey — whether through financing infrastructure projects or striking deals on trade, military or diplomatic cooperation.
The war on Ukraine has further shaken things up, weakening Russia’s grip on former Soviet republics in Central Asia and opening a new role for Turkey as a mediator.
“This chaotic reorganisation is real, but probably temporary,” Pierre Razoux, head of the France-based FMES think-tank told AFP.
“Inevitably, the end of the war will leave Russia and Europe weakened and worn down, while the two big winners from this situation will be the US and China,” he added.
What Has China Said?
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg echoed US concerns on Tuesday that China may supply Russia with weapons to help it pursue its war against Ukraine.
“It is President (Vladimir) Putin who started this imperial war of conquest. It is Putin who keeps escalating the war,” Stoltenberg said.
“We are also increasingly concerned that China may be planning to provide lethal support for Russia’s war.”
On Tuesday, China said it was “deeply concerned” about the conflict, which it said was “intensifying and even getting out of control”.
Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Beijing would “urge the countries concerned to stop adding fuel to the fire as soon as possible, to stop shifting the blame to China”, following US claims that Beijing may be considering sending arms to Moscow.
China has sought to position itself as a neutral party, while maintaining close ties with its strategic ally Russia.
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, is due in Moscow on Tuesday for talks, in his final stop of a European tour.
The Kremlin has said Wang may meet Putin during his visit, according to the state TASS news agency.
According to the latest estimates from Norway, the conflict has wounded or killed 180,000 Russian soldiers and 100,000 Ukrainian troops.
Other Western sources estimate the conflict has caused 150,000 casualties on each side.
With inputs from AFP
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