Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday vowed that Moscow would achieve all the goals it has set for itself in the ongoing war against Ukraine.
"The truth is on our side. All goals set will be achieved," Putin said in a video message released to mark the second anniversary of what Russia calls "Reunification Day" — when Moscow annexed four Ukrainian regions despite not having full control over them.
Months after the Kremlin leader ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Russia annexed the regions of Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. The annexation followed a sham referendum held in those territories widely condemned by the international community.
In his address on Monday, Putin repeated his justification for launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine as protecting Russian speakers against a so-called "neo-Nazi dictatorship" in Kyiv that aims to "cut them off forever from Russia, their historic homeland."
He also slammed "Western elites" who "turned Ukraine into their colony, a military base aimed at Russia" and who fanned "hate, radical nationalism... hostility to everything Russian."
"Today, we are fighting for a secure, prosperous future for our children and grandchildren," he said.
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