Russia will prevail in Ukraine, Aims would be achieved, says Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the invasion of Ukraine before a packed soccer stadium on Friday. Putin promised to tens of thousands of people that all of the Kremlin's aims would be achieved. "We know what we need to do, how to do it and at what cost. And we will absolutely accomplish all of our plans," Putin told the rally from a stage decked out with slogans such as "For a world without Nazism" and "For our president". Many of the Russian slogans used at the rally incorporated the "Z" symbol that Russian forces have used as a motif in Ukraine. One read "Za Putina" - "for Putin".

Putin says the operation in Ukraine was necessary because the United States was using the country to threaten Russia and Russia had to defend against the "genocide" of Russian-speaking people by Ukraine. Putin said the soldiers fighting in what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine had demonstrated the unity of Russia. The coverage of his speech on state television was unexpectedly interrupted by what the Kremlin said was a technical problem with a server. As he was talking, state television briefly cut away from his speech mid-sentence and showed earlier pre-recorded footage of patriotic songs, but he later appeared back on state television.RIA news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying a technical fault on a server was the reason state television had suddenly cut away from Putin.