First since 2022 - Kremlin confirms another constitutional breach by Putin

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Vladimir Putin will not deliver his annual address to the Federal Assembly in 2025, despite the constitutional requirement to do so each year. According to Peskov, the decision was made personally by Putin.

"This is the head of state’s decision; it is his address. Everything will happen in due course," Peskov said.

When Putin could return to address format

Russian media, citing a source close to the presidential administration, report that preparations for a possible address could begin ahead of State Duma elections scheduled for September 2026. Other sources suggest the timing would depend on developments on the battlefield as well as the state of contacts with the United States.

War over domestic agenda

According to reports, the Kremlin leader does not plan to deliver the annual address because, as one source put it, he is currently "more concerned with the war and US nuclear threats than with domestic issues."

Putin, who has been in power for more than 20 years with a four-year break, has already violated the constitutional requirement in 2017 and again in 2022, the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Those breaches had no legal consequences. In 2024, the address was delivered on February 29, shortly before tightly controlled elections that resulted in Putin securing a fifth term.

During a recent so-called "direct line" broadcast, Putin was involved in a scandal on Russian state television when a person presented as a BBC correspondent appeared on air. The journalist, Steve Rosenberg, later denied taking part in the broadcast.

Ukrainian officials have also said that Putin continues to receive embellished and distorted reports from Russian generals and security services about the situation at the front, reinforcing his belief that Russia can still prevail in the war against Ukraine.