LOOKING FORWARD. If Putin declares war today, it will be against the West rather than Ukraine | War Ukraine and Russia

Vladimir Putin today gives his first ‘State of the Nation’ since he began the invasion of Ukraine. It is so eagerly awaited that Russian state television is now showing a real countdown clock. But what is Putin announcing? His long awaited spring offensive? A second large-scale mobilization? Or is he now formally declaring war? And if so, is it aimed at Ukraine or at the West?