Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to outline his election programme in a state of the nation address ahead of the presidential election in March, according to a Russian newspaper report.

The speech is expected to take place sometime between February 23 and March 8, the usually well-informed daily paper Kommersant reported on Tuesday, citing four of its own sources.

The election is due to be held over three days from March 15 to 17.

The newspaper speculated that Putin will address Russia’s war aims in Ukraine, the country’s sovereignty, the economic and social situation as well as family values.

Putin regularly comments on all of these topics. The speeches are usually used to attack the West or to showcase Russia’s strength and its own successes.

According to Kommersant, this year’s speech is also likely to have an election campaign character. The Russian leader avoids debates with other candidates.

The state of the nation address is an annual duty of the president as stipulated by the constitution.

He delivers it to the representatives of the Federal Assembly, which is made up of the State Duma and the Federation Council, the lower and upper houses of the Russian parliament.

However, Putin cancelled it in 2022, the first year of the war, citing what he called the very high “momentum of events.”

Last year, he used the speech to suspend the New START nuclear non-proliferation treaty.