Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that “victory will be ours” in Moscow’s Red Square during a concert celebrating the annexation of four Ukrainian territories. He also welcomed the inhabitants of the areas he claims.
The concert in the Russian capital followed after Putin signed documents in a ceremony that annexed Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya. Russia has not fully occupied these regions. More than seven months after the outbreak of the war, fighting is still going on there.
Putin stated in Red Square that he would do everything he could to support the people in the “new regions”. “Russia not only opens the doors of its home to these people, it opens its heart. Welcome home.” That is what the president said to the thousands of invited spectators to the televised concert.
The international community has strongly condemned the annexations. Previously, there was also international criticism of the referenda that were held prior to the annexations. Last week, plebiscites were held in occupied parts of the four regions, with residents voting en masse to join Russia, according to official results. Many countries speak of sham referendums, the results of which were already determined in advance.