On the 10th anniversary of referendums in Donbasse, the Russian president promises to return peace to the region. “Together we will win,” he said.
The Russian president stated this Saturday, in a message to the inhabitants of the annexed Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, that Russia will “return peace” to those territories of Donbass, which ten years ago held referendums to proclaim themselves independent from kyiv.
I am convinced that we will, without fail, restore peace in Donbass and solve the most difficult tasks. We will build and restore roads, buildings, schools, hospitals, medical and educational centers, industrial enterprises,” said Vladimir Putin, in a congratulatory message to the inhabitants of Luhansk, quoted by EFE.
“Together we will win,” highlighted the Russian president, who insisted that, on May 11, 2014, the residents of Luhansk expressed their “firm support” for the creation of the Luhansk People’s Republic and, in September 2022, they voted for favor. of “being with his homeland, Russia.”
Putin highlighted that ten years after the first referendum in Luhansk, Russians are fighting for the “liberation of their historical lands” and the security of their country.
In another message sent to the inhabitants of Donetsk, Putin highlighted that May 11, 2014 is a key day in the history of Donbass and welcomed the “firm determination” of the inhabitants of Donetsk to support the independence of the territory to “defend their language, culture and free development”, while fighting against “the aggression of the nationalists, who came to power in kyiv as a result of a coup d’état”.
The separatist referendums in southeastern Ukraine were held at a time of fighting and without international observers.
One day after its celebration, Donetsk and Lugansk self-proclaimed their independence and asked to join Russia, something that occurred in September 2022, half a year after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to Russian Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Moscow, which claimed to “respect the results” of the 2014 vote without taking legal action, waited those years in an attempt to resolve the conflict through diplomatic channels.
Source: Observadora
