Putin defends Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a rare public appearance at a patriotic rally | Messages

Vladimir Putin defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a rare public appearance at a large rally in Moscow on Friday.

The event at Luzhniki Stadium marked the eighth anniversary of the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

During a speech, the Russian president told the crowd that his nation “hadn’t had such unity in a long time.”

He claimed that the “main reason” for the military operation in Ukraine was to end “human suffering and genocide” in the Donbass region.

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