Russian President Vladimir Putin has hailed the country’s “special operation” in Ukraine at a rally marking the anniversary of the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium, which hosted the World Cup final in 2018, was packed for the rally, with patriot songs, and crowds waving Russian flags and shouting: “Russia! Russia! Russia!”
Images and from the stadium showed a sea of red, blue and white flags and banners, with one reading: “For Putin!”
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People wave flags during President Putin’s speech. Pic: AP
Thousands at rally cheer on president
Mr Putin gave a speech from a stage at the venue – after discussing Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine with his security council on Friday, RIA news agency cited the Kremlin as saying.
He told the cheering thousands “we will implement all our plans”, insisting that the “main purpose” of the invasion of Ukraine is to “save people from suffering and genocide”.
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Russian military cadets and officers were among the crowds. Pic: AP
He told supporters that Russian soldiers are fighting “shoulder to shoulder” in Ukraine, adding: “We haven’t had such unity in such a long time.”
Russian TV suddenly cut away from the Russian leader and showed patriotic songs being played at the event.
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People in the crowd hold a banner reading ‘For Putin!’
Young and old united in celebration in Moscow
Almost every single seat appeared to be filled in the 81,000-capacity stadium.
Russian military cadets and officers in uniform were among the tens of thousands of people at the massive celebration.
Mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, also attended the event and addressed the crowds.
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People wave flags with the letter Z. Pic: AP
Civilians, young and old, and dressed in the colours of the national flag, smiled and waved, capturing the festivities on their mobile phones, some with their faces painted to show support for their country.
Flags with the letter Z, which has become a symbol of the Russian military, and a hashtag reading “we don’t abandon our own”, were also being waved on the stadium floor – packed too with revellers.
Putin puts his spin on Ukraine conflict
Sky correspondent Alistair Bunkall said: “We have become accustomed to seeing President Putin sitting one end of a very long table and either his senior security figure sitting the other end or any foreign leaders that have visited him.
“We have become used to him being paranoid about catching COVID and not wanting to be close to anybody – but now we see him out and about at a stadium in Moscow with thousands of people waving the Russian flag.
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The Russian leader gave his speech from a stage at the centre of the stadium. Pic: AP
“As closed off as much as he might be to the rest of the world, I’m sure he can’t have failed to realise that continually sitting in a bunker gives the impression of a bunker mentality, and so he wants to try and prove that the Russian people and behind him and behind his, what he describes, as the ‘special operation’ inside Ukraine.
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President Vladimir Putin hailed Russia’s actions in Ukraine
“He has been praising that operation, saying that it’s going successfully. But it isn’t an operation, it’s an invasion, it’s a war that has so far yet failed to comprehensively take and hold a city. They have failed to even encircle the capital Kyiv.
“They have failed to unseat the government of President Zelenskyy. They have lost four of their major generals on the frontline, plus thousands of other troops and a lot of equipment as well.
“And this was supposed to be one of the most fearsome, one of the most powerful military forces in the world.
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Moment Russian tank attacked in Mariupol
“So the facts bear out: the operation, the invasion, the conflict – is not going well at all for Russia. The Ukrainians are putting up a resistance, and President Putin has given no indication that he’s necessarily aware of that, but one assumes that he must be.
“But this message is a message for his people. He has shut down much of independent media within Russia, he has shut down access to foreign media, social media, and so this is the spin that he is putting on the conflict to the Russian people.”
