Russian President Vladimir Putin at a concert in Luzhniki in honor of the reunification of Crimea and RussiaMOSCOW, March 18 Against the inhabitants of Donbass, who did not agree with the coup d'état in Ukraine, punitive military operations were organized, Vladimir Putin said during a rally-concert in honor of the annexation of Crimea in Luzhniki. «People who lived and live in the Donbass also did not agree with the coup d'état Punitive military operations were immediately organized against them. And not just one. They were immediately placed in a blockade, subjected to systematic cannon fire, and air strikes,» Putin said. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Armed Forces strike only at the military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops. With the support of the Russian Armed Forces, the DPR and LPR groups are developing an offensive, but there is no talk of the occupation of Ukraine, the Russian president emphasized. NATO» because of the US position on Ukraine
