Putin warns West against sending troops to Ukraine in major speech

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Vladimir Putin's Russia has been under the spotlight, with the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine just last weekend. But there's more to come.

Tomorrow is the funeral of Putin's fiercest critic, Alexei Navalny. He is scheduled to be laid to rest at Borisovskoye Cemetery, after a farewell service at a Moscow church.

And in just over two weeks, Putin is widely tipped to win a fifth term in office, as Russians take to the polls in the country's presidential election.

Only candidates viewed as acceptable to the Kremlin are allowed to run - and just three weeks ago Russia's election commission rejected anti-war challenger Boris Nadezhdin as a candidate for the country's top job.

Putin has already been in power in Russia longer than any ruler since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, serving as either president or prime minister since 2000.

A victory in March would see him remain as president until 2030.

All in, there's plenty more to come.

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And now for another recap on Putin's (lengthy) state of the nation address - focusing on some of the more unexpected announcements:

"Stop drinking, take up skiing," was Russian President Vladimir Putin's advice to Russians listening in, as he acknowledged health concerns across the population. In reference to the Soviet-era slogan, Putin pledged a drive for Russians to drink less alcohol and move more.

It's all part of a national project called a "Long and Happy Life", which he said would improve the health of the nation and increase life expectancy from 73 to 78 years.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has led to a surge in alcohol consumption in Russia, reaching 2.3bn litres in 2023 and mirroring Soviet-era trends, according to the US-based Jamestown Foundation think tank.

Putin also encouraged businesses to invest in Russia, despite many international brands leaving the country after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin leader said "hundreds of new brands" had arrived and people "wanted to start a business, they believed in themselves and their country".

Turning his attention to technology developments, robots were high-up the agenda, as the leader argued industrial robots would make Russia one of the 25 leading countries in the field.

Across the nation, people could watch Putin's speech on screen displays stamped across large buildings and cinemas in 17 Russian cities opened their doors to those wishing to listen in, free of charge.

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President Putin covered a range of key issues during his two-hour speech.

Here's a quick recap. Let's start with the main international issues:

• Putin claimed that the West wanted to see a "dying" Russia - but it had "miscalculated" because of the determination and unity of the Russian people
• He warned that any deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would have "tragic" consequences
• The Kremlin leader also claimed that a majority of Russians supported his full-scale invasion of Ukraine - now in its third year
• And he warned that Western rhetoric threatened a "conflict with the use of nuclear arms and consequently the destruction of civilisation"
• He added that Russia's strategic nuclear weapons were "in full combat readiness"

But the bulk of Putin's speech was dedicated to domestic issues:

• He praised new Russian businesses that emerged after Western departures because of sanctions
• He said digitalisation was key, stressing that high-speed internet should be available to everyone across the vast country
• Putin also called for the "modernisation" of taxation in Russia for the purpose of "a fairer distribution of the tax burden"
• And he also announced a number of environmental and climate projects

Vladimir Putin's annual address is over.

His speech comes just days after the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched by Russia on 24 February 2022 - but Putin did not mention of how or when the war might end.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since that date.

Here are some recent pictures from Ukraine, where Russian forces continue to launch deadly attacks:

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Putin was speaking for about two hours, covering a range of key issues.

But there was one name he refused to mention - Alexei Navalny - Putin's most prominent critic.

Navalny's death in a Russian Arctic penal colony earlier this month sparked a global outpouring of tributes and anti-Putin demonstrations, with his supporters convinced his death was a political assassination.

Hundreds of people were detained in Moscow, St Petersburg and other Russian cities for laying flowers in his memory.

Navalny will be buried in Moscow on Friday. He was seen as a threat by the Kremlin for his ability to bring large numbers of protesters to the streets to rail against the government.

In 2017, he was barred from standing in the general election and his organisations were banned by the Russian state.

In 2020, Navalny collapsed on a flight over Siberia. He was rushed for treatment in Germany where tests proved he had been poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok.

The Kremlin denied any involvement, although Putin admitted that the state was keeping Navalny under surveillance.

Navalny returned to Moscow in 2021. He was immediately detained.

He died under circumstances yet to be fully established, but his widow Yulia Navalnaya insists that Putin is responsible.

Just before his speech ended, Putin returned to talking about the Ukraine war and how Russian soldiers will be commended when they return home.

He said that from March "veterans of the special military operation" - he is referring those fighting in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine - can apply to be part of a training programme called "time of heroes".

As part of this programme, Putin promised mentorship by government personnel, and heads of businesses, and "priority" to the best spots at universities.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Zelensky claimed that 180,000 Russian soldiers have been killed and tens of thousands more injured.

Putin has also faced backlash from Russian mothers of soldiers who have said their sons are being sent off to fight poorly trained.

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Closing his speech, Putin says: "We are one big family, we are together and therefore we will do as we are planning and dreaming.

"I believe in our victories and success and in the future of Russia".

Those in attendance rise to their feet for a standing ovation and to sing Russia's national anthem.

There's a bit more to come, so stick with us as we bring you the last few key lines from the Russian leader's speech.

Putin is now addressing the country's cultural landmarks - and extends his proposals to Ukraine's eastern Donbas regions, which Russia has seized large swathes of.

He says that by 2030 at least 1,000 cultural landmarks across the country must be rebuilt, offering greater investment in the arts with a special programme to allow young people to attend shows for free.

The programme will also offer money to citizens to relocate to rural areas to keep cultural landmarks from being destroyed.

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Family values and improving the economy are key themes of Putin's speech today.

Now, he calls for the "modernisation" of taxation in Russia for the purpose of "a fairer distribution of the tax burden".

Putin says that "we should redistribute the tax burden in favour of those who have more funds".

He also wants to close the loopholes used by those to avoid tax. Putin says "this is what business people are asking [for]".

It's early afternoon in Russia now - lunchtime has been and gone - but Putin's still going, and turning his focus (once again) to the importance of technological development.

In order to improve digital services in the country, Putin proposes that high-speed internet should be available to everyone, not just in the big cities, but across the whole country.

To do this, he says more funding would be allocated to upgrading Russia's satellite fleets.

He also says that artificial intelligence (AI) is a key area of development and says that the country must become "self-sufficient and independent" in this area.

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We've passed the hour-mark of Putin's speech now, and he's getting into a highly detailed description of his economic plans.

We've spotted a few nodding heads (and occasional yawns) in the audience.

Praising the Russian economy, he says that "hundreds of new brands have arrived" as "people want to start a business, they believe in themselves and their country".

It's difficult to say if this is true, but since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine many international brands - including McDonald's, Zara and Starbucks - made the decision to leave Russia because of the reputational risk and the practical difficulties of operating due to sanctions.

To encourage the creation of new businesses, Putin says that taxes for small and medium sized businesses should be reduced.

The matter of exactly who will staff these businesses is also a concern for the Russian leader.

Earlier, he said that there is a "high shortage of personnel" - likely a reference to the fact there are thousands of soldiers deployed in Ukraine and therefore missing from the workforce.

Earlier on, Putin issued a warning to the West against going to war with Russia, saying "the consequences for potential invaders will be far more tragic" than in the past.

"They must understand that we too have weapons that can hit targets in their territory," he said.

You can watch his comments back in full here:

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Putin has turned his attention to technology and science where he says Russia has a "huge competitive advantage".

He says that they want to more than double their investment into science research, including pharmaceuticals and space programmes.

Putin says Russia aim to increase their investment in science and technology to 2% of GDP by 2030.

He says the country must become technologically independent in areas key to the economy.

Putin says in order to do that the country must rely on imports significantly less and, "manufacture consumer goods in much bigger volumes".

He adds: "Industrial robots should make Russia among the 25 leading countries, so given what we have today that would be a good result."

A short while earlier, Putin claimed that "Russia today is the largest economy in Europe in GDP and fifth in the world ". As expected this received a strong applause from Putin's government.

It is always difficult to verify Russia's economic data, but it does seem that the economy has been doing well recently.

World Bank data published in December 2023, referring to 2022, put Russia eighth in world GDP - and fourth in Europe, behind Germany, the UK, and France.

...in the pop-up press centre at the ‘Gostiny Dvor’ exhibition centre opposite the Kremlin...

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Putin's address has turned his attention to education and schooling.

The Russian leader accepts that educational facilities are limited, particularly in cities, and says that they will build an additional 150 schools and a further 100 kindergartens.

Putin says that he wants to launch a new national project that focuses on the youth of Russia.

He thanks the country's teachers and mentors for the work that they have done and proposes that from 1 September, they should receive an additional extra 500,000 rubles (£4,300) in payment.

Putin also proposes extra federal payment for mentors in technical colleges and teacher training beginning.