(Donetsk and Kharkiv Regions of Ukraine) On the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the Ukrainian military who courageously and selflessly defended the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region during the large-scale invasion of Russia. "Today I am honored to be here and to award the best of the best. Although I believe that we have all the best at the front," said the Head of State. Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated the attendees on the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has likely resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides and caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II, With an estimated 8 million people being displaced within the country by late May as well as million Ukrainians fleeing the country as of 8 November five weeks of the invasion, Russia experienced its greatest emigration since the 1917 October invasion has also caused global food shortages. Following the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution, Russia annexed Crimea, and Russian-backed paramilitaries seized part of the Donbas region of south-eastern Ukraine, which consists of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, sparking a regional war. In March 2021, Russia began a large military build-up along its border with Ukraine, eventually amassing up to 190,000 troops and their equipment. Despite the build-up, denials of plans to invade or attack Ukraine were issued by various Russian government officials up to the day before the invasion. On 21 February 2022, Russia recognised the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, two self-proclaimed breakaway quasi-states in the next day, the Federation Council of Russia authorised the use of military force and Russian troops entered both territories. The invasion began on the morning of 24 February,when Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation"with the aim of "demilitarisation" and "denazification" of Ukraine. In his address, Putin espoused irredentist views, challenged Ukraine's right to statehood, and falsely claimed Ukraine was governed by neo-Nazis who persecuted the ethnic Russian minority.
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