Newsman: Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a concert marking the eighth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow where Putin vows Russia will prevail in Ukraine.
Friday the March 18, 2022, tens of thousands of people waved the Russian flag at the national stadium as they took part in celebrations commemorating the eighth year of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the invasion of Ukraine at the rally.
Speaking from a stage in front of a banner that read, “For a world without Nazism,” Putin said Russia “will definitely implement all our plans” in Ukraine.
“To spare people from this suffering, from this genocide — this is the main reason, motive and purpose of the military operation that we launched in the Donbas [an eastern Ukrainian region] and Ukraine,” he said.
Dressed in a turtleneck and coat, Putin said the soldiers fighting in what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine had demonstrated the unity of Russia.
Putin insisted that national unity was the strongest in a long time, even as many people flee Russia or protest against war in the streets, and as the country is increasingly isolated on the global stage.
“The best proof is the way our boys are fighting in this operation: shoulder to shoulder, supporting each other, and if need be, protecting each other like brothers, shielding one another with their bodies on the battlefield. We haven’t had this unity for a long time,” Putin told the crowd.
The hour-and-a-half event featured live music and speeches from high-profile supporters, including RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Presenters, who accused the West of aggression towards Russia, also introduced Russian Olympic athletes like Dina Averina on stage while the crowd chanted “Russia, Russia.” Putin’s favourite Russian band, Lyube, sang patriotic songs about war, sacrifice and the honour of those fighting for Russia
Vladimir Putin promised to tens of thousands of people waving Russian flags and chanting “Russia, Russia, Russia” that all of the Kremlin’s aims would be achieved.
The rally comes at a tense moment for Russia, as its military struggles to capture key cities like Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and Western official’s estimates the country’s troop losses are in the thousands.
“We know what we need to do, how to do it and at what cost. And we will absolutely accomplish all of our plans,” Putin, told the rally from a stage decked out with slogans such as “For a world without Nazism” and “For our president”.
Many of the Russian slogans used at the rally incorporated the “Z” symbol that Russian forces have used as a motif in Ukraine. One read “Za Putina” – “for Putin”.
Putin said the operation in Ukraine was necessary because the United States was using the country to threaten Russia and Russia had to defend against the “genocide” of Russian-speaking people by Ukraine.
His speech at rally was unexpectedly cut off on the state TV broadcast in what the Kremlin described as a technical error. As he was talking, state television briefly cut away from his speech mid-sentence and showed earlier pre-recorded footage of patriotic songs, but he later appeared back on state television. Russian state TV later replayed Putin’s full speech without problems, but the Kremlin refused to confirm or deny if the event was live or pre-recorded.
Before Putin spoke, Russia’s stirring national anthem, with the words “Russia is our sacred state” boomed out across the stands of the stadium used in the 2018 Soccer World Cup along with more modern pop hits such as “Made in the U.S.S.R.”.
State workers were told by authorities to attend the celebrations. According to CNN invitations were given out to teachers to Moscow’s state schools as it obtained by CNN. Attendees were told they would have Russian flags and should put white “Z” marks on their clothing, a pro-war symbol seen daubed on the country’s military vehicles in Ukraine CNN reports.
