Putin says 'Stopping Ukraine's genocide in Donbass was special military operation's goal'

In a rare public speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed supporters at the Luzhniki Stadium on Friday where he justified Russia's military offensive in Ukraine. Speaking to the crowd in Moscow, Putin marked the 8th anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and asserted that stopping Ukraine's' genocide' in the Donbass region was the real aim of the 'special operation' in Ukraine. 

“We know what we should do now and how we should do it and we will implement all our plans,” he said. Hailing Moscow's 'special operation' in Ukraine, the leader asserted that the move was aimed to set the Donbass region east of the country free from 'genocide'.

"People of Donbass did not agree with the 2014 coup in Kyiv and were immediately hit with punitive military operations", Putin claimed. 

"A blockade was immediately put in place against these people. They were subjected to systematic shelling, airstrikes. This is what is called genocide," he was quoted as saying by state-owned news agency Sputnik. 

"This really was genocide. Stopping that was the goal of the special operation," he added. 

The crowd at the Stadium was heard chanting “Russia! Russia! Russia!” during the address. Banners on stage and in the crowds were seen displaying the letter "Z", which has become a symbol of support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, often spotted atop several of its military tanks.

Ukraine preparing for a massacre in Donbass: Putin

This is not the first time that the Russian President has accused Ukraine of unleashing a 'genocide' in Donbass. On Wednesday, Putin claimed that Ukraine was "purposefully preparing for a massacre and an ethnic cleansing" in Donbass. 

"Encouraged by the US and other Western countries, Ukraine was purposefully preparing for a massacre & an ethnic cleansing in Donbass. A massive onslaught on Donbass and then Crimea was simply a matter of time. These plans were shattered by our Armed Forces," Putin was quoted by MFA Russia as saying.

"In Kyiv, they were not only preparing for war, for aggression against Russia, against the Donbass, but they were also waging it. Attempts to organise sabotage and terrorist underground did not stop. In recent years, hostilities have continued in the Donbass, with the shelling of peaceful settlements. During this time, almost 14,000 civilians died, including children," Russia Today quoted Putin as saying.