In the telegram, the president expressed confidence that peace will return to the land of Donbas and the most difficult problems will be resolved, since the territories enjoy all the rights as territories of the Russian Federation.
Thanks to the support of the entire country and the population, the necessary programs are implemented, roads and housing are built and repaired, health and education centers are created, as well as industrial and agricultural production is promoted, the Russian leader’s message highlights. .
Putin recalled that, during the referendum of May 11, 2014, the inhabitants of Donetsk and Lugansk showed the world their firm determination to defend their right to the mother tongue, culture, free development and readiness to bravely resist the aggression of the nationalists who took power in kyiv.
On May 11, 2014, a referendum was held in Donbas, in which more than 2.5 million people went to the polls, about 75 percent of potential voters. The vast majority of the population voted in favor of independence.
In 2014, the central government of Ukraine launched an operation against militias in the Donbas region, in the east of the country, where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk were proclaimed after failing to recognize the new authorities that resulted from the coup d’état. in kyiv in February of that same year.
Since February 24, 2022, Russia has been carrying out a special military operation in Ukraine whose objectives, according to the Russian president, are to protect the population from “a genocide by the current authorities in kyiv.”
Likewise, the aim is to tackle the national security risks represented by the advance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) towards the east.
Both Donbas republics, as well as the provinces of Kherson and Zaporozhye, joined Russia at the end of September 2022 after holding two self-determination referendums.
ro/gfa
