JOHANNESBURG, (The Southern African Times) -After days of deafening silence, the Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared in front of the world on Thursday to deliver an address on what Moscow calls a special military operation in Ukraine. Russian forces moved into Ukraine on 22 February to begin what the world has called a Russian Invasion of Ukraine.
Events in Ukraine have sparked a dangerous flame across the global political and economic divide. On Wednesday the United Nations General Assembly sat and 141 countries voted in condemnation of the Russian invasion, 5 voted against the resolution while 35 countries abstained. There have been countless sanctions on Russia mainly from Western countries affecting Russian businesses, individuals and even sporting establishments all in a drive to cripple the Russian economy as a reaction to its invasion of Ukraine.
There has been a significant number of injuries and deaths on both the Ukrainian and Russian sides, with accurate numbers heavily debated. The Russian president in his statement on Thursday acknowledged the loss of lives of Russian military personnel and vowed that it the government’s duty to support the families of the fallen soldiers. The families will receive insurance pay-outs and each member of their families will receive financial compensation. In a move to possibly incentivize the Russian military he announced that soldiers will receive additional payments to the amount of 5 million roubles as well as insurance pay-out for participating in the military operation in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin promised a pay-out of 2.9 million rubles for injured soldiers who are unable to continue their military service as well as 3 million rubles for the Russian Ministry of Defence staff. He emphasized his dedication to protecting the separatists’ regions and to demilitarize and de-nazify Ukraine before observing a moment of silence for the Russian fallen soldiers.
(Report by Kundai Vambe )
