Russian President Vladimir Putin assured this Friday that Russia will do everything it can to prevent threats to the security of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014 after referendums deemed illegal by the West that imposed sanctions on Moscow .
“It is clear that security issues are a priority for Crimea and [a cidade portuária de] Sevastopol, especially now,” with Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine just around the corner, Putin underlined during a video conference on the peninsula’s socio-economic development.
The Russian head of state issued these statements in the presence of, among others, the leader imposed by Russia on Crimea, Serguei Axionov, on the eve of the ninth anniversary of the annexation of the peninsula and its main port. on March 18, 2014.
“I want to congratulate the people of Crimea, the people of Sevastopol, all citizens of our country on the upcoming Day of the reunification of Crimea with Russia,” Putin said.
The Kremlin leader noted that nine years ago, the inhabitants of Crimea and Sevastopol “made a final and unequivocal historical decision: to become part of one great country again and forever.”
On March 18, 2014, the Russian President signed the annexation treaty of the Ukrainian peninsula and Sevastopol, following two referenda in which the people of Crimea reportedly approved their incorporation into Russia by 96.77% and 95.6%. city with federal status. The annexation was formalized three days later.
During Ukraine’s military offensive, which Putin ordered on February 24, 2022, Russia managed to create a land corridor between Donbass, in eastern Ukraine, and Crimea, in the south, which needs hydrological resources to survive. southern Ukraine.
With the illegal annexation last September of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporijia and Kherson, Russia transformed the Sea of Azov into an internal sea, guaranteeing the security of Crimea, creating yet another line of defense.
The Crimean Bridge was the target of an attack that Moscow attributed to Ukrainian forces
However, in the past thirteen months, Crimea has been the target of several attacks attributed to Ukraine.
The peninsula became an enemy target in August 2022 due to a sabotage operation against a Russian army arsenal and suspicious explosions at a Russian airfield.
Last October, the Crimean Bridge, the jewel in Putin’s crown connecting the occupied peninsula to Russia, was badly damaged in an explosive attack that Moscow attributed to Ukrainian forces.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Jusnulin said today that small trucks will start running again soon and that the second track of the infrastructure will reopen before July 1. Traffic on both roads has since been restored.
Ukraine has always insisted that sooner or later it will liberate the territory occupied by Russia, and since 2020, on February 26, it has been celebrating the Day of Resistance against the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol – a date when in 2014 the largest demonstration in support of the territorial integrity and unity of the Ukrainian state took place in Simferopol.
Further, in August 2021, Kiev launched the Crimean platform, which gathers international support for the recovery of the peninsula and asked Russia this year to immediately cease hostilities and withdraw its troops from occupied territories.
Source: DN
