Russian President Vladimir Putin is giving his annual state of the nation address, amid heightened tension with the West over Ukraine and jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny.
Putin spent more than 30 minutes focusing on Russia’s battle with Covid-19, praising the social solidarity of millions of people in the pandemic.
But previously Putin has also used the occasion to send signals abroad.
Russia has moved more than 100,000 troops close to Ukraine, according to reports.
A large part of that force is in Crimea, the peninsula which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. A senior Ukrainian officer, Gen Serhiy Nayev, estimated the total force to be 103,200 last week.
Putin’s speech comes as anti-corruption campaigner Alexi Navalny is being treated at a prison hospital in Vladimir, about 180km east of Moscow. He is on hunger strike and his allies say his life is in danger.
On his address, Putin touched on Covid-19 vaccination saying “vaccination is vital… there is no other way” to curb the pandemic.
“In the autumn we want to have achieved collective immunity,” he said.
Meanwhile, Russian police have launched raids on supporters of Navalny to disrupt their plans for nationwide protests later on Wednesday.
Authorities say any pro-Navalny protests will be illegal
Last week the US government accused the Kremlin of “malign activity” and expelled 10 Russian diplomats. Russia responded tit-for-tat. Similar hostile exchanges of diplomats took place between Russia and both the Czech Republic and Poland.
