Russian President Vladimir Putin today congratulated residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics on the occasion of their 10th anniversary, the Kremlin website reported.
In the telegram, the President expressed his confidence that peace will return to the land of Donbass and the most difficult problems will be resolved, as the lands enjoy all rights as territories of the Russian Federation.
The Russian President’s message highlights that thanks to the support of the entire state and population, the necessary programs are being implemented, roads and housing are being built and repaired, health and educational centers are being established, in addition to the strengthening of industrial and agricultural production.
Putin noted that during the referendum on May 11, 2014, the people of Donetsk and Luhansk showed the world their firm determination to defend their right to their mother tongue, culture, free development and their readiness to courageously resist the aggression of the nationalists of the authorities in Kiev.
On May 11, 2014, a referendum was held in Donbas, where more than 2.5 million people went to the polls, about 75% of potential voters. The vast majority of the population voted for independence.
In 2014, the central government of Ukraine launched an operation against militias in the Donbass region in the east of the country, where the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics were declared, after failing to recognize the new authorities that resulted from the coup. It was produced in Kiev in February of the same year.
Since February 24, 2022, Russia has been carrying out a special military operation in Ukraine, the objectives of which, according to the Russian President, are to protect the population from “genocide at the hands of the current authorities in Kiev.”
Likewise, the goal is to address the national security risks of NATO’s eastward push.
Both the Donbass republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye provinces, joined Russia at the end of September 2022, after holding two separate self-determination referendums.
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