Russia’s President Vladimir Putin congratulated Russians this Saturday on the anniversary of the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporijia, an event he described as “historic and important” for the country.
“A year ago, on September 30, a decisive, truly historic and important event took place: agreements were signed on the admission of four new nationals of the federation to Russia,” Putin said in a video message published on the Kremlin website was published.
Putin emphasized that “millions of residents of Donbass (Donetsk and Luhansk) and Kherson and Zaporijia regions chose to stay in their homeland.”
‘They tried to intimidate them, to deprive them of the right to determine their own future and destiny, what is dear to every human being – culture, traditions, mother tongue – everything that is hated by nationalists and by their Western sponsors who carried out these actions. a coup in Kiev in 2014 and led to a civil war,” he stated.
According to the Russian president, “nothing and no one can break the will of millions of people, their faith in truth and historical justice.”
“By defending our compatriots in Donbass and Novorossiya, we are defending Russia itself, fighting together for the homeland, for our sovereignty, spiritual values and unity, for victory,” he emphasized.
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared September 30 as Reunification Day, on which Moscow commemorates the annexation of the four invaded Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporijia.
The choice of date has to do with the day Putin signed the annexation agreements for the four regions, on September 30, 2022, just over seven months after he ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia had already annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014.
Kiev and the majority of the international community demand that Moscow respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity based on the 1991 borders, when the former Soviet republic gained independence.
Russia has responded to such demands by saying Kiev must come to terms with the new reality.
Donbass denotes the region encompassing Donetsk and Lugansk, where a separatist war began in 2014, with support from Moscow.
Putin recognized the self-proclaimed republics of the Donbass hours before the invasion of Ukraine, on February 24, 2022.
Novorossiya, or New Russia, is a historical designation for territories conquered by the Russian Empire in the 18th century, including regions of modern-day Ukraine.
Source: DN
