MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday vowed that Moscow would accomplish all goals it has set for itself in Ukraine, in its third year of conflict.

“The truth is on our side. All goals set will be achieved,” Putin said in a video message released to mark the second anniversary of what Russia calls “Reunification Day”, when Moscow annexed four Ukrainian regions.

After it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Russia annexed the regions of Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. It does not fully control all territory in these regions.

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In his address, Putin repeated his justification for sending troops into Ukraine as protecting Russian speakers against a “neo-Nazi dictatorship” that aimed to “cut them off forever from Russia, their historic homeland”.

He also slammed “Western elites” who “turned Ukraine into their colony, a military base aimed at Russia” and who fanned “hate, radical nationalism… hostility to everything Russian”.

“Today we are fighting for a secure, prosperous future for our children and grandchildren”, he said.