We are defenders of fatherland Vladimir Putin tells rally

Putin says the Ukraine war is aimed at protecting its own culture, interests and language, and reclaiming Moscow’s ‘historical lands’.

President Putin rallied tens of thousands of flag-waving Russians yesterday at a pro-war concert in Moscow featuring Kremlin-friendly rock groups and artists.

The concert at the vast Luzhniki Stadium took place one day before Russia’s national “Defender of the Fatherland” public holiday and two days before the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.

Flanked by members of the armed forces, Putin said in a short speech that Russia’s assault on Ukraine was aimed at protecting its own culture, interests and language, as well as what he claimed were Moscow’s “historical lands”.

“Our entire people are defenders of the fatherland!” Putin said. “I bow to you.” He then led the stadium in a rendition of the national anthem. “Ru-ss-ia! Ru-ss-ia!” he chanted before leaving the stage.

Putin’s speech came shortly before President Biden discussed security with members of Nato’s eastern flank known as the Bucharest Nine in Warsaw. The organisation, which was founded in 2015 after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, includes Nato member states such as the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Romania that were dominated by Moscow during the Cold War.

“You are the front line of our collective defence,” said Biden, who made a surprise trip to Kyiv on Monday to emphasis Washington’s support for Ukraine. “You know better than anyone what is at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world.”

Vladimir Putin (C) addresses a rally and a concert marking the annexation of four regions of Ukraine Russian troops occupy – Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, at Red Square AFP)

He stressed that Nato’s Article 5, which stipulates a collective response to an attack on any of the alliance’s 30 members, remained in force. “We will defend literally every inch of Nato,” he promised.

The Bucharest Nine said later that they were in favour of boosting Nato’s presence in their territories. “Russia is the most significant and direct threat to allied security,” they said in a statement. Putin has called Nato’s eastwards expansion a danger to Russia and cited it as a reason for invading Ukraine. The declaration was signed by Hungary, despite Viktor Orban, its prime minister, saying recently that he does not consider Russia to be a threat to Europe.

Before Putin’s speech there was tight security around the Luzhniki Stadium – the venue for the football World Cup final in 2018 – with a Pantsir air defence system deployed to the Sparrow Hills, which overlook the vast arena. Despite temperatures of minus 12C, government employees and students were thought to have been forced to attend the concert. Others were said to have been bribed with free food and payments of 500 roubles ($9.70). Thousands left early, however. “We’re freezing,” one woman told Sota, an opposition media outlet.

The crowd was entertained by a series of patriotic and pro-war songs, including a performance by Shaman, a Kremlin-approved pop singer whose biggest hit is called I’m Russian. Lyube, who are thought to be Putin’s favourite rock group, also took to the stage.

Anti-war Russian musicians, including some of the country’s biggest stars, live in exile because of laws that make it a crime to criticise the invasion.

“Ukraine wanted to destroy us and we were forced to take up arms to protect our families, children and women,” Lieutenant Sergei Lomov, who was on crutches, told the crowd, repeating Kremlin propaganda.

Several Ukrainian children that were said to have been “saved from Mariupol” by the Russian army were also led on stage. Russian bombs reduced the southern Ukrainian port city to rubble last year. Kyiv says that Moscow has forcibly deported 16,000 Ukrainian children to Russia or areas controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists since the war began.

This was Putin’s second high-profile appearance in as many days after Tuesday’s state-of-the-nation speech during which he announced that Russia was suspending its participation in the sole remaining nuclear arms pact with the United States. “It is a big mistake,” Biden said in Warsaw.

The Kremlin has annulled an old presidential decree that outlined Moscow’s commitment to building relations with western countries and Nato. The decree, which was signed by Putin in 2012, also pledged that Russia would respect the sovereignty of Moldova, the former Soviet state that shares a border with Ukraine. The decree was nullified by the Kremlin due to “deep changes taking place in international relations”. Moldova said last week that it had uncovered a Russian plot to overthrown its pro-western government.

Putin headed to the Luzhniki Stadium after meeting Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, for talks at the Kremlin. The meeting followed a war of words between Moscow and Washington over US claims that Beijing could be planning to provide Russia with weapons.

Wang, the highest ranking Chinese official to visit Russia since the start of the war, announced that Beijing was ready to strengthen ties with Moscow. “There are always opportunities in a crisis,” he said. President Xi is expected to visit Moscow in April or May.

The Times