The President of Russia, Vladimir Putintoday highlighted the unity of the Russian people in the face of the “special military operation” in Ukraine, unanimously condemned by the international community and which has caused more than 3 million refugees, before hundreds of thousands of citizens at Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium.
Putin, who has praised the heroism of the Russian soldiers during the military campaign aimed at preventing a “genocide” -in his words- in the neighboring country, he made these statements before more than 200,000 people, according to local authorities. “Precisely, saving people from that suffering, from that genocide, is the main and most important reason (… .) of the military operation that we initiated in Donbas and Ukraine”, he proclaimed from the stage.
Putin, who has cited the Bible to justify military intervention in Ukraine, has considered that the best expression of the unity of the Russian people is how Russian soldiers fight “shoulder to shoulder” in the neighboring country. “We see how heroically our guys act and fight during this operation. It’s been a long time since we enjoyed such unity“, said.
He called on those present to congratulate the Crimeans on the eighth anniversary of the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula through a separatist referendum held with a Russian military presence.
“For a world without Nazism!“, “For the president!” and “For Russia!”, indicated the slogans that could be read on the stage of the event in the Luzhniki, which included a musical concert. Tens of thousands of people who could not access the stadium concerts continued in the vicinity of the Luzhniki, which has a capacity for more than 80,000 spectators.
“Thanks to the guys who with weapons in their hands defend Russian citizens in Donbas,” he said. Sergei Sobyanin, mayor of Moscow. Sobianin, one of the closest collaborators of the Kremlin, has called to support the Russian president who announced the military operation against Ukraine on February 24.
“Half the world has united against us, but Russia is a strong country. Strong for its citizens, for its patriots. And as long as we are together, we will be invincible,” he said. Some of the presenters, singers and attendees wore the St. George’s Z-shaped ribbon, which has become a symbol of military intervention in Ukraine. Russians usually wear the ribbon of San Jorge coinciding with May 9, the day of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Putin’s popularity rose to 79.6% during the “special military operation”, according to the results of a poll published today by a demoscopic center close to the Kremlin.
The approval of the Kremlin chief’s discharge has also risen, from 70.2% to 77.2%, between the start of the military campaign and mid-March.
Source: Lasexta
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