As Moscow commemorated the one-year anniversary of its assertion of control over four Ukrainian territories, Russia’s former leader, Dmitry Medvedev, suggested on Saturday that additional regions of Ukraine could be subject to annexation.
This assertion comes in the wake of Moscow conducting elections in these four regions earlier this month. However, it’s essential to note that Moscow doesn’t exercise full authority over these territories, as it is currently engaged in a conflict with Ukrainian forces seeking to regain control.
Medvedev, currently serving as the Deputy Chair of Russia’s Security Council, stated, “The special military operation will continue until the complete destruction of the Nazi regime in Kyiv. Victory will be ours. And there will be more new regions within Russia.”
The term “new regions” is used by Russia to describe the Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, which Moscow claimed as annexed in September of the previous year.
In a separate address, President Vladimir Putin described these annexations as a historic choice made by the local population to reunify with the “Fatherland.”
It is noteworthy that Dmitry Medvedev, once considered a liberal reformer, has since evolved into one of Moscow’s staunchest proponents of the Ukraine offensive, often employing inflammatory rhetoric against the West on social media platforms.
By AFP
