First Anniversary of Occupation of 4 Regions in Ukraine; Putin: They Wanted to Join Russia

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, claimed on Saturday, October 8, that residents of 4 regions in Ukraine, which his country illegally annexed last year, had expressed a desire to join Russia. In a speech marking the 'first anniversary of the annexation' of the regions of 'Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson,' he asserted that this action was in accordance with international standards. Putin also claimed that the residents of these areas had shown interest in local elections to become part of Russia. Many countries, especially Western nations and Ukraine, have labeled these elections as fraudulent. His speech followed an announcement by the Russian Ministry of Defense on Friday, October 7, that starting from October 1, it would mobilize 130,000 people for mandatory military service in most regions of the country. Meanwhile, the governor of the southern 'Zaporizhzhia' region in Ukraine, part of which is under Russian control, reported that 5 people were injured during two missile strikes on a village on Saturday. The Ukrainian Air Force also stated that it had shot down 30 drones made by the Islamic Republic, which targeted the provinces of 'Odessa, Mykolaiv, and Vinnytsia.' In response, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have intercepted 9 Ukrainian missiles fired towards the southern 'Belgorod' region in Russian territory. Verification | Kremlin-supporting Twitter users are spreading false information. A journalist critical of the Kremlin was transferred to a prison in Siberia. The Russian Foreign Minister, in his speech at the UN, called the West an 'empire of lies.' The Ukrainian army: We have created 'hell' for the Russians with Western weapons. Concurrently with Zelensky's negotiations in the US, Russia targeted Ukrainian cities from east to west.