Russian war of aggression: Medvedev claims entire Ukraine for Russia with map

Former Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev claimed the entire Ukraine as part of Russia on a map for Russia’s national holiday. On Wednesday, he posted an animated graphic on his blog on the Telegram network: To the sounds of the Russian anthem, the white, blue and red flag waved over a map of Russia. The entire Ukraine up to the border with Poland, Slovakia and Hungary was marked as Russian. Belarus, which is closely allied with Russia, was excluded.

In the more than two years of war, Moscow has given mixed answers, official or propaganda-based, as to the extent to which Russia intends to subjugate Ukraine. One declared aim is for Russia to completely conquer the four Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, which it has declared to be annexed. Further considerations have been given to Kharkiv in the east and to the south with the port city of Odessa, and finally to the capital Kiev. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in April that the only thing that was uncertain was the future of western Ukraine around Lviv.

During his time as president from 2008 to 2012, Medvedev was considered Russia’s liberal hope. However, since the Russian attack on Ukraine, the deputy head of the National Security Council has become one of the biggest hardliners and defends the war with inflammatory posts on social networks.

On June 12, 1990, the parliament of the Soviet Republic of Russia decided on state sovereignty and thus, in practice, independence from the collapsing Soviet Union. The day is therefore celebrated annually as Russia Day. President Vladimir Putin presented state awards for achievements in culture and technology in Moscow on this day. He called on the country to stand united in the face of the war – which he himself had ordered. “In these difficult times, we are united by patriotism and responsibility for the fate of the homeland,” he said, according to the Tass agency.