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It has been a long time since Vladimir Putin looked like this.
The Russian President, who has hardly let anyone near him for fear of a corona infection in the past two years, will appear in front of tens of thousands at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Friday.
Accompanied by patriotic songs and shouts of "Russia, Russia," he gives a five-minute speech.
Occasion: The anniversary of the annexation of Crimea.
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
»In their own country, united by one destiny – that is probably what the people of Crimea thought and guided by in the referendum on March 18, 2014.«
A mass jubilation event intended to show how much the population stands behind their president - and the war of aggression that Putin and his government are waging against Ukraine.
The broadcast on state television is intended to keep potential doubters in their own country in line.
Putin repeats the lie about the alleged liberation action of the Ukrainian people once more.
»... first of all, to save people from genocide, from suffering ... this is the main reason, motive and goal of the military operation that we initiated in Donbass and Ukraine. That is the goal."
There were several glitches during the live TV broadcast.
In one case, in the middle of Putin's speech, the director cut to previously recorded material with patriotic songs.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov later spoke of technical problems.
The BBC and Reuters news agency also reported statements from viewers that they had been pressured to attend - some allegedly not even knowing that Putin was going to perform.
However, such a gathering of several tens of thousands of mostly apparently enthusiastic people cannot be explained with this.