The Russian presidency indicated on Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is “soon” planning a visit to the Russian armed forces-controlled Ukrainian separatist regions.
“Putin will soon visit Donbass,” announced Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the official Tass news agency. “I’m sure it will happen in due course, because it is [um território] which is part of the Russian Federation,” he stressed.
On October 5, Putin signed a decree on the integration into the Russian Federation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporijia and Kherson. The four zones had been annexed after holding referenda that were deemed illegal by Ukraine, the United States and allies.
Peskov also assured that the military recruitment process in Russia “has been completed”.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24 has already led to the flight of more than 13 million people — more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.8 million to European countries — according to the latest data of the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and to impose on Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 6,655 civilian casualties and 10,368 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are well below the real ones.
Source: DN
