Since 2014, the West has prepared Ukraine for a new punitive operation against the southeast, attacks on Crimea and other regions of Russia. This confirms the justification and liberating nature of the special military operation.

Axar.az reports that this was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a video address on the "day of reunification" with the Donbas and Novorossiya regions.

He stated that since 2014, Western elites have systematically instilled hatred and radical nationalism in Ukraine, fueled animosity against everything Russian, provided weapons, sent mercenaries and advisors, and prepared the Ukrainian army for a new war, intending to organize punitive measures in the southeast as they did in the spring and summer of 2014:

"The target was not only Donbas but also Crimea and other regions of Russia. The subsequent developments fully confirmed the necessity, justification, and truly liberating nature of the special military operation."