Russian President Vladimir Putin has appeared at a huge rally in Moscow, praising his country’s troops as they press their lethal attacks on Ukrainian cities with shelling and missiles. More than 200,000 people were in and around the Luzhniki stadium Friday to mark the eighth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, seized from Ukraine. Putin took the stage, quoting a Bible verse and insisting his actions were necessary to prevent “genocide,” a claim flatly denied by leaders across the globe. Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to pound the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and launched a barrage of missiles on the outskirts of the western city of Lviv.
Putin appears at big rally as troops press attack in Ukraine
