Putin hails Russia’s fighters in Ukraine at rally in Moscow

President Vladimir Putin hailed Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine during a rally in Moscow on Wednesday, calling on the crowds to chant “Russia, Russia” to show their support for those he said were defending the fatherland.

Tens of thousands of people packed into Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, which has a capacity of 81,000, waving white, blue and red Russian flags and listening to patriotic songs before Putin arrived.

“They fight heroically, courageously, bravely. We are proud of them,” Putin said at the “Glory to Defenders of the Fatherland” event, held on the eve of Russia’s February 23 holiday celebrating those who serve in the armed forces.

 “Today they are supported by the whole country,” Putin said of Russian forces in Ukraine, adding he had just been updated by military chiefs on the situation at the front. “When we are together, we have no equal. To the unity of the Russian people.”