Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended military intervention in Ukraine, saying it seeks to protect Russian speakers against what he called a “neo-Nazi dictatorship.” In contrast, Russian forces launched drone and missile strikes across regions of Ukraine.
In a video message published on Monday to mark the second anniversary of what Russia calls “Reunification Day”—the date of its annexation of four Ukrainian regions—Putin pledged that all goals set by Moscow in the conflict, now in its third year, would be “achieved.” He said,
“The truth is on our side. Together, we defend a safe and prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.”
Putin accused the Ukrainian government of wanting to sever all relations with Russian speakers forever, while Kyiv and its allies called that a baseless pretext for aggression. He accused “Western elites” of turning Ukraine into a colony and a military outpost aimed at Russia, cultivating hatred and radical nationalism against it.
He added that “Western countries are pumping Ukraine with weapons and mercenaries for a new conflict, which again brings back to memory events of 2014,” when Russia annexed Crimea and started supporting separatists in eastern Donbas.
Russia does not fully control those areas, although it seized Crimea and has claimed to annex four other Ukrainian provinces—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia—after referendums that were widely rejected as illegal.
He has said time and again that Russia will continue fighting in Ukraine, at the very least, until it achieves what he describes as the “demilitarisation,” “denazification,” and neutrality of that country.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities said a wave of drones attacked Kyiv overnight, setting off air raid sirens for five hours. All drones were destroyed, according to the Kyiv military administration. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said debris from the drones fell near a residential building, but fortunately, there were no casualties.
Russia launched a total of 73 drones in the overnight assault, together with different types of missiles, including an Iskander ballistic missile, the Ukrainian air force said. Most of the drones, as well as a cruise missile, were brought down over several regions, including Kyiv, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, and Kharkiv.
In Mykolaiv, it had started a fire in a vital infrastructure facility, and no day passed without an attack, a threat against energy and military installations in Ukraine. Throughout September, Russia has intensified its air raids on Ukrainian cities to destroy the essential infrastructure of Ukraine, making civilian casualties certain.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeatedly urged Western countries to increase air defense aid amid the continuous menace of Russian attacks by drones and missiles.
