Moscow plans big concert with Putin's participation timed for invasion date
Moscow is planning to conduct a big demonstration concert supposedly for "Defenders' Day" at the Luzhniki Stadium with the participation of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The event is to take place on 22 February, whereas the full-scale invasion of Ukraine started on 24 February last year.
Source: Kremlin-aligned news outlet TASS referring to its sources
Quote: "The demonstration concert will take place at the Luzhniki Stadium. Up to 200,000 people will attend it."
Details: It is planned that Vladimir Putin, the president of the aggressor country, will make a speech in front of the guests.
Apart from the main stage, there will be a zone for historical reconstructions made near the stadium, as well as an exhibition of Russian military equipment.
Several stages at once will be installed for the concert. So-called "activists from youth and patriotic organisations" will participate in the demonstration.
Background:
- The last time Putin was on stage at the Luzhniki Stadium was in March 2022. At the time, the demonstration concert was dedicated to another year of unlawful occupation of Crimea and the support of the war in Ukraine.
- On 2 February 2023, Oleksii Reznikov, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, called for new military assistance from NATO countries because he expected an offensive of the Russian army in Ukraine's east or south. "We can’t lose the initiative... We think that, given that they [Russians, – ed.] live by symbols, they may try something around 24 February… We do not underestimate our enemy," he said.
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