Putin goes on to say
”Our proposal is not to freeze the conflict, like how the west wants it, but to end it. I repeat, this is not to freeze the conflict, but for its final completion.”
Putin goes on to say
”Our proposal is not to freeze the conflict, like how the west wants it, but to end it. I repeat, this is not to freeze the conflict, but for its final completion.”
There was a referendum in the four regions where the public voted overwhelmingly to join Russia, though it has been argued that because many people have fled the region, it was not legitimate.
This also took place during the infamous Kharkiv retreat in September, which forced the bulk of the Ukrainian forces to take up the territories in the north and away from launching assaults (which had been rumored since August) and posing a security threat to the regions that underwent the “snap” referendum.