Vladimir Putin has congratulated Russian citizens on the anniversary of the accession of four former Ukrainian regions.
A year ago was held the signing of treaties on the accession of the four seized territories to the Russian Federation. But their boundaries were not exactly defined as Russian officials stated that they would be determined at a later date.
In a video message came out early on Saturday Putin stated that
Millions of residents of Donbass and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions made their choice to be with their Fatherland.
Addressing the people of Russia, Putin implicitly reiterated to the West what Russian politicians have already said many times, namely that their reunification with Russia was a conscious, long-awaited, hard-won and genuinely popular decision, which was made collectively through referendums in full compliance with international norms.
Putin, as is well known, did not accept the Maidan that occurred in 2014 in Kyiv, which resulted in Viktor Yanukovych leaving the presidential office, and then the conflict spread to some regions of Ukraine, notably Donetsk and Lugansk.
He speculates to the topic that it is precisely “loathed by nationalists and their Western patrons who orchestrated a coup in Kyiv in 2014 and then unleashed a full-scale civil war and terror against dissenters and organized blockades, constant shelling, and punitive actions in Donbass”.
Putin concluded his speech by addressing the residents of the new regions, saying that
We are one people, and together we can overcome anything and meet any challenge.
