Putin stated that the West is preparing for war with russia

“We see that whereas previously NATO countries limited themselves to supporting the Kyiv regime, … now the West openly says that it is preparing for war with us and is increasing offensive military budgets. At the same time, to justify such expenditures and the radical militarization of their states, the leaders of NATO countries and the European Union, as before, use false claims about an alleged russian military threat”, - russian dictator putin said on June 23 while addressing graduates of military higher educational institutions of the russian federation.

Putin interpreted the actions of the “so-called democratic West” as follows:

“First, they create threats to our country, forcing us to take actions necessary for self-defense…, and then they immediately accuse us of every mortal sin in order to justify the continuation of their aggressive policy”.

Putin also referred to the beginning of the war in 1941. According to him, after the Third Reich attacked the USSR, the West and Germany itself “tried to accuse the USSR and Stalin of aggression against what we today call the collective West”.

The russian dictator assured that today russia is ready to “respond promptly and adequately to any external and internal threats”. He also spoke about the modernization of the russian nuclear triad, the ground forces, and the growing combat capabilities of the Aerospace Forces and the Navy.