MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin on Thursday boasted of new nuclear weapons and set a series of ambitious goals for Russia, vowing to boost living standards, improve health care and education and build modern infrastructure in a state-of-the-nation address. The televised speech was timed to closely precede the March 18 election, in which Putin is set to easily win a fourth term. Putin used the occasion to announce that Russia has developed a slew of new strategic nuclear weapons that he said render NATO’s U.S.-led missile defences useless. “You have failed to contain Russia,” he said in a reference to what he described as Western efforts to impede Russia’s development with sanctions and military deployments. A Putin victory in the presidential vote would put him on track to become Russia’s longest-serving leader since Josef Stalin.

Source: National Post March 01, 2018 09:24 UTC