Putin made an address on the anniversary of the annexation of the regions of Ukraine

The President of Russia made a video message in connection with the anniversary of the annexation of territories in four regions of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin said that the annexation is a “historical and fateful event”, and the residents of Donbass, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions “made their choice to be with their Fatherland”.

According to Putin, the so-called referendums in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, as well as in the self-proclaimed “DPR” and “LPR” were held in accordance with international norms. The vast majority of countries in the world did not recognize the vote on the inclusion of Ukrainian regions in Russia.

Earlier, Putin signed a law on celebrating the day of the annexation of four regions of Ukraine in 2022. The holiday will be celebrated on September 30, which will be a holiday in Russia.

Yesterday, a pro-war rally-concert took place on Red Square. Initially, it was reported that Putin would speak at it, but a few hours before the start of the event, the Kremlin announced that the president was not planning to attend. The mass media drew attention to the fact that the concert was not broadcast on the Internet, and the federal channels did not talk about it in their programs.

• Moscow announced the annexation of Ukrainian regions in the fall of 2022. It follows from the Russian laws and votes that Moscow claims the full territories of four regions – Kherson, Zaporozhye, Donetsk and Luhansk regions within their administrative borders – and part of the Nikolaev region of Ukraine.
• Most of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions and a significant part of the Donetsk region are not controlled by Moscow. The city of Zaporozhye – the administrative center of the Zaporozhye region – is under the control of Kyiv.
• In 2022, the press service of the Kremlin was unable to explain to journalists the precise boundaries within which the new entities are included in Russia.