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Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address in Moscow on February 20.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address in Moscow on February 20.

Live Blog: Putin's State-Of-The-Nation Address As It Happened

President Vladimir Putin has delivered his annual address to parliament as polls show trust in the Russian leader is at near record lows.

-- Russian President Vladimir Putin has delivered his annual address to parliament as polls show trust in the Russian leader is at near record lows. The speech lasted a little under 90 minutes.

The highlights were:

-- Putin said "our missiles will target the United States and not just countries where their missiles are stationed."

-- Putin calls for a raft of measures to lift up Russian families and promised Russians better living conditions “within this year.”

-- Putin said the country can now invest “colossal” resources in its development, using money “earned, not borrowed.”

09:32 20.2.2019

Says health-care sector has a serious shortage of qualified professionals.Calls for adoption of measures to help people choose careers in medicine.

09:32 20.2.2019

09:32 20.2.2019

Says all children's clinics in the country must be brought to complete modern standards. "Electronic interaction" between clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, etc., must be completed.

09:30 20.2.2019

"Big state money has a nice ring to it, even from afar" -- analyst Pavlovsky

09:30 20.2.2019

By the end of 2020, Putin says medical care must be accessible in every population center in the country. Calls for modernization of more than 1,000 clinics and first-aid points.

09:29 20.2.2019

Speech now moves on to health care, says many citizens are not satisfied with their access to clinics, hospitals, ambulances, etc., particularly in remote locations.

09:29 20.2.2019

09:29 20.2.2019

Calls on officials not to be arrogant or disrespectful to citizens.

09:28 20.2.2019

A popular satirical Twitter feed that needles the Kremlin takes a swipe at Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, asking whether he's doing his part to boost Russia's population given that five of his "six children with three women" live abroad.

09:28 20.2.2019

Pensions must be at least the same as the poverty line as a minimum, and then additional benefits and inflation adjustments added to it, Putin says.

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