Full speech of Vladimir Putin 👇 Vladimir Putin: Dear friends! The topic of my speech is the situation in Donbass and the course of a special military operation to liberate it from the neo-Nazi regime, which seized power in Ukraine in 2014 as a result of an armed coup d'état. Today I appeal to you, to all citizens of our country, to people of different generations, ages and nationality, to the people of our great Motherland, to all those united by a large historical Russia, to soldiers and officers, volunteers who are now fighting on the front line, are in a combat post, to our brothers and sisters - residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, other areas liberated from the neo-Nazi regime. We will talk about the necessary, urgent steps to protect the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Russia, support for the aspiration and will of our compatriots to determine their own future and the aggressive policies of some Western elites who strive to maintain their dominance, and for this they are trying to block, suppress any sovereign independent development centers in order to further hard impose their will on. The goal of this West is to weaken, separate and eventually destroy our country. They are already directly saying that in 1991 they were able to split the Soviet Union, and now it's time for Russia itself, that it should disband into many deadly warring regions and regions. And they've been nurturing such plans for a long time. They encouraged gangs of international terrorists in the Caucasus, promoted NATO's offensive infrastructure close to our borders. They made total Russophobia with their weapons, including for decades purposefully cultivating hatred for Russia, primarily in Ukraine, to which they were preparing the fate of the anti-Russian bridgehead, and the Ukrainian people themselves turned into cannon fodder and pushed them to war with our country, unleaving it, this war back in 2014, using armed forces against the civilian population, organizing genocide, blockade, terror against people who refused to recognize the power that arose in Ukraine as a result of the coup d'état. And after today's Kiev regime actually publicly abandoned a peaceful solution to the problem of Donbass and, moreover, declared its claims to nuclear weapons, it became absolutely clear that a new, regular, as it was before twice, large-scale offensive against Donbass is inevitable. And then an attack on Russian Crimea - Russia - would inevitably follow. In this regard, the decision on a proactive military operation was absolutely necessary and the only possible one. Its main goals - the liberation of the entire territory of Donbass - have been and remain unchanged. The Lugansk People's Republic has already been almost completely cleared of neo-Nazis. Fighting in the Donetsk People's Republic continues. Here, in eight years, the Kiev occupation regime has created a deeply echeloned line of long-term fortifications. Their assault on the forehead would result in heavy losses, so our units, as well as military units of the Donbass republics, act systematically, competently, use equipment, protect personnel and gradually liberate Donetsk land, clear cities and settlements of neo-Nazis, provide assistance to people whom the Kiev regime has turned hostages into a human shield. As you know, professional military personnel serving under contract take part in a special military operation. Volunteer formations also fight shoulder to shoulder with them: people of different nationalities, professions, ages are real patriots. At the call of their hearts, they stood up for Russia and Donbass. In this regard, I have already instructed the Government and the Ministry of Defense to determine the legal status of volunteers, as well as fighters of units of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics in full and as soon as possible. It should be the same as that of cadremen of the Russian army, including material, medical support, social guarantees. Particular attention should be paid to the organization of supplying volunteer formations and detachments of the Donbass People's Militia with machinery and equipment. In the course of solving the main tasks for the protection of Donbass, our troops, based on the plans and decisions of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff on the general strategy of action, liberated from neo-Nazis and significant territories of Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, a number of some other areas. As a result, a long line of contact was formed, which is over a thousand kilometers. What do I want to talk about publicly for the first time today? After the start of a special military operation, including negotiations in Istanbul, Kiev representatives reacted to our proposals very positively, and these proposals primarily concerned ensuring the security of Russia, our interests. But it is obvious that the West did not suit a peaceful solution, so after reaching certain compromises, Kiev was actually given direct instructions to disrupt all agreements. Ukraine began to be further pumped up with weapons. The Kiev regime launched new gangs of foreign mercenaries and nationalists, military units trained according to NATO standards and under the actual command of Western advisers. At the same time, the regime of repression throughout Ukraine against its own citizens, established immediately after the 2014 armed coup, was strengthened in the most severe way. The policy of intimidation, terror, violence takes on increasingly massive, terrible, barbaric forms. I want to emphasize: we know that most people living in the territories liberated from neo-Nazis, and these are primarily the historical lands of Novorossiya, do not want to be under the yoke of the neo-Nazi regime. In Zaporozhye, Kherson region, Lugansk and Donetsk, the atrocities committed by neo-Nazis in the captured areas of Kharkiv region have been seen and seen and see. Heirs of Bandera and Nazi punishers kill people, torture, throw into prison, settle scores, kill, torture civilians. More than seven and a half million people lived in the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions before the outbreak of hostilities. Many of them were forced to become refugees, leave their home. And those who remained - about five million people - are now subjected to constant artillery and missile fire from neo-Nazi militants. They hit hospitals and schools, stage terrorist acts against civilians. We cannot, do not have any moral right to give people close to us torn apart by executioners, we cannot but respond to their sincere desire to determine their own destiny. The parliaments of the People's Republics of Donbass, as well as the military and civil administrations of Kherson and Zaporozhye regions decided to hold referendums on the future of these territories and appealed to us, Russia, to support such a step. I would like to emphasize: we will do everything to ensure a safe environment for referendums, so that people can express their will. And we will support the decision on our future, which will be made by the majority of residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. Dear friends! Today, our Armed Forces, as already mentioned, operate on the line of contact, which exceeds a thousand kilometers, confront not only neo-Nazi formations, but actually the entire military machine of the collective West. In this situation, I consider it necessary to make the following decision - it is fully adequate to the threats we face - namely: to protect our Motherland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to ensure the security of our people and people in the liberated territories, I consider it necessary to support the proposal of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff to conduct partial mobilization in the Russian Federation. I repeat, we are talking about partial mobilization, that is, only citizens who are currently in reserve will be subject to conscription, and above all those who have served in the Armed Forces have certain military accounting specialties and relevant experience. Conscripted for military service will necessarily undergo additional military training before being sent to the unit, taking into account the experience of a special military operation. The decree on partial mobilization has been signed. In accordance with the legislation, the chambers of the Federal Assembly - the Federation Council and the State Duma - will officially be informed about this by letters today. Mobilization events will begin today, on September 21. I instruct the heads of regions to provide all necessary assistance to the work of the military commissariats. I would like to emphasize that Russian citizens called up for military service for mobilization will receive the status, payments and all social guarantees of military personnel performing military service under contract. I would like to add that the Decree on partial mobilization also provides for additional measures to implement the state defense order. The heads of defense industry enterprises have direct responsibility for solving the problems of increasing the production of weapons and military equipment, deploying additional production capacities. In turn, all issues of material, resource and financial support for defense enterprises should be resolved by the Government immediately. Dear friends! In its aggressive anti-Russian policy, the West has crossed all a line. We constantly hear threats against our country, our people. Some irresponsible politicians in the West not only talk about plans to organize the supply of long-range offensive weapons to Ukraine - systems that will allow strikes on Crimea and other regions of Russia. Such terrorist attacks, including the use of Western weapons, are already being carried out on the border settlements of Belgorod and Kursk regions. In real time, using modern systems, aircraft, ships, satellites, strategic drones, NATO carries out reconnaissance throughout southern Russia. In Washington, London, Brussels, Kiev is directly pushing to transfer hostilities to our territory. Without concealing, they say that Russia should be defeated by all means on the battlefield with the subsequent deprivation of political, economic, cultural, in general any sovereignty, with the complete looting of our country. Nuclear blackmail was also used. We are talking not only about the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant encouraged by the West, which threatens an atomic catastrophe, but also about the statements of some high-ranking representatives of the leading NATO states about the possibility and admissibility of the use of weapons of mass destruction against Russia - nuclear weapons. For those who allow themselves such statements against Russia, I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and in some components - more modern than NATO countries. And at the threat to the territorial integrity of our country, we certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people. It's not a bluff. Citizens of Russia can be sure: the territorial integrity of our Motherland, our independence and freedom will be ensured, I emphasize this once again, by all the means we have. And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the wind rose can turn towards them as well. In our historical tradition, in the fate of our people - to stop those who are eager to world domination, who threaten to dismember and enslave our Motherland, our Fatherland. We'll do it now, so it will be. I believe in your support.