Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday that Moscow will annex more areas in Ukraine, a year after he claimed the annexation of four Ukrainian regions.
“The special military operation will continue until the complete destruction of the Nazi regime in Kiev and the liberation of originally Russian territories from enemy hands,” Medvedev wrote on the social network Telegram.
“Victory will be ours. And new regions will join Russia,” added the current number two of the Russian Security Council and strong supporter of the offensive in Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin promised “rehabilitation and socio-economic development” of Ukraine’s four annexed regions, in a speech recorded and released by the Kremlin on Saturday.
“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.
In September 2022, after the organization of referendums was considered a sham by Kiev and its Western allies, Putin signed a decree annexing the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporijia.
The annexations, in areas partially controlled by Russian forces, were fiercely criticized by Kiev and Western powers, which view them as illegal.
Putin has declared September 30 as ‘reunification day’.
However, Russia controls only part of the four regions and Ukraine has launched a counter-offensive in an attempt to regain the areas.
Source: DN
