Moscow: President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia wanted to solve the conflict in Ukraine peacefully but that Western countries had prepared a "different scenario" behind its back.

"We were doing everything possible to solve this problem peacefully, negotiating a peaceful way out of this difficult conflict, but behind our backs a very different scenario was being prepared," Putin told lawmakers from Russia's parliament.

Putin was delivering his state-of-the-nation address on Tuesday, a speech many anticipate will set the tone for the year ahead and shed light on how the Kremlin sees its war in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that the Russian leader would focus on the “special military operation” in Ukraine, and Russia’s economy and social issues.