Putin defends his war in front of tens of thousands of Russians

Vladimir Putin has given himself a mass bath in defense of the war against Ukraine.

On the occasion of the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea in 2014 after an illegal referendum, and under the motto “For Russia, for a world/peace without Nazism

(

means both words), the Kremlin has organized a concert in the stadium of the final of the 2018 World Cup where the stands were packed to the brim.

There, in an atrium several meters away from the rest of the participants and chanted by the public, the president stressed that his offensive is a "liberating" mission.

Tens of thousands of supporters have sheltered the president in a venue that has a capacity of 81,300 people, and thousands more watched the concert-rally in a tent outside the stadium according to the images.

According to the authorities, more than 200,000 spectators followed the event live.

"The main objective of the military operation in Donbas and Ukraine has been to liberate the population from genocide," Putin said of the offensive launched by the Russian armed forces from the Belarusian border to the Black Sea, which has put both the capital, kyiv, like the largest Russian-speaking city in the country, Kharkov.

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The war in Ukraine, live

The broadcast was abruptly interrupted during Putin's live intervention.

According to his spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, a technical error caused the president to disappear in full speech and previous moments of the performance were repeated.

newspaper

who was a direct witness to the event said that Putin "quietly put an end to his ideas and left the stage."

"There is no greater love than giving one's soul for friends," said the Russian president, who stressed that his military "cover each other in Ukraine."

"We haven't had this unit for a long time," he told the audience.

The total number of Russian casualties in Ukraine is unknown.

The only data published so far by the Ministry of Defense dates back to March 2, when it revealed 498 deaths in its ranks.

Putin quoted a famous Russian admiral, Fyodor Ushakov, as saying that "all storms go to the greater glory of Russia."

"That's how it was, that's how it is today, and that's how it will always be," he pointed out.

In the act there was no lack of flags or the symbol of the defenders of the war, the "zeta", which went viral before the invasion began for appearing painted on the tanks and trucks deployed by the Russians on the border with Ukraine.

The badge to differentiate friends from enemies was one of the signs of the imminence of the attack that became more viral on social networks.

It was later adopted by Russian authorities and state media as a symbol to promote the slogan “for victory” (

, in Russian) and support for Putin (“

).

Today, it is a controversial symbol that divides Russians and one of the forms of propaganda most used by the Kremlin in this conflict: from t-shirts for sale in the stores of state channels to lines of children who form "z" in the streets. schools.

Atmosphere at the Loujniki stadium in Moscow, this Friday.Reuters

"Scum and traitors"

Putin made other controversial statements on Wednesday in which he differentiated between those who support the Kremlin, which he identified with Russia, and those who betray the country.

During a video conference discussing new measures in the face of the crisis unleashed by sanctions, the president said that the Russian people "will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors, and will simply spit them out like a insect in his mouth, he will spit them out on the sidewalk.”

The president predicted a "natural and necessary self-detoxification of society" that, in his opinion, will strengthen his country "in the face of any challenge that arises."

A day later, his spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, pointed out that this alleged cleanup did not only refer to businessmen "who make money here in our country, but live there," as Putin said, but also to all Russians who reject what is happening.

“Someone quitting their job, someone leaving active duty, someone leaving the country and moving to another state.

This is how this purification happens.

Someone who breaks the law and is punished according to court decisions," said the spokesman, also referring to the protesters.

Putin has participated for the second consecutive year in the concert-rally at the Luzhniki stadium.

In 2021 he gave another speech before thousands of people despite the restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

That mass event was an exception, since other demonstrations, such as the protests that arose after the arrest of the opponent Alexei Navalni, had not been authorized under the pretext of the pandemic.

Singers such as Grígori Leps and Liubé, and some groups from the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, the separatist territories of Ukraine that the Kremlin recognized to justify its

against Kiev, have participated in the concert.

”I grew up in the USSR, my life is in the USSR.

Rockets, the best ballet, the most beautiful girls on the planet and victory in World War II”, one of the bands sang in chorus with the public, while other groups interpreted old war songs.

“Go ahead, Russia!

Source of strength!” was another of the chanted songs.

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