Russian President Vladimir Putin started to deliver his long delayed state of the nation address on Tuesday. A speech many anticipate will set the tone for the year ahead and shed light on how the kremlin sees its invasion in Ukraine.
Putin traditionally addresses a large audience of lawmakers and state officials and the speech is broadcast by all Russian state tv channels.
While the constitution mandates that the president deliver the speech annually putin never gave one in 2022 as his troops rolled into ukraine and suffered repeated setbacks.
Now the address comes days before the first anniversary of the so-called "special military operation" on Friday.