Putin says Russia will stop participating in its last nuclear treaty with the U.S.

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address at the Gostiny Dvor conference centre in Moscow on February 21, 2023. (Dmitry Astakhov /SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

MOSCOW – Speaking to a joint session of the Russian parliament and Kremlin officials, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the war in Ukraine as an existential struggle against the West, while announcing he was suspending Russia's participation in the last remaining arms control treaty with the U.S.

"They are the ones who started this war, and we are using our forces to put a stop to it," said Putin, referring to the conflict in Ukraine.