Photo credit: kremlin.ru
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the start of a special military operation in Donbass, TASS reports. On Thursday, February 24, he addressed the nation, stressing that the leaders of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics asked Moscow for help in repelling aggression from the Ukrainian authorities.
Russia will do everything to protect people, Putin noted. According to him, the residents of Donbass have been harassed by Ukraine for eight years now. Vladimir Putin called the actions of Kiev a genocide.
Russia will seek to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, the Russian leader added.
Vladimir Putin also stressed that Russia has no plans to occupy Ukraine. The peoples inhabiting it have the right to self-determination.
He once again recalled that Russia cannot allow the appearance of nuclear weapons in Kiev, and also called NATO expansion to the east unacceptable.
The President appealed to Ukrainian servicemen to lay down their arms and go home. He assured that in this case they would be able to safely leave the war zone. Vladimir Putin blamed the Kiev regime for possible victims.
The President warned against any attempts to interfere in what is happening from the outside, especially by force. ''No one should have any doubt that a direct attack on Russia will lead to defeat and terrible consequences for a potential aggressor,'' he stressed.
Russkiy Mir
