"I am convinced that we will definitely restore peace in Donbas and solve the most difficult problems. We will build and restore roads, houses, schools, hospitals, medical and educational institutions, industrial enterprises," Vladimir Putin said in a congratulatory message to the residents of Lugansk, quoted by EFE. "We will win together," the Russian president stressed, who insisted that on May 11, 2014, the residents of Lugansk showed their "firm support" for the creation of the Lugansk People's Republic and, in September 2022, voted in favor of "being with their homeland, Russia." Putin stressed that ten years after the first referendum in Lugansk, the Russians are fighting for the "liberation of their historical lands" and for the security of their country. In another message sent to the inhabitants of Donetsk, Putin stressed that May 11, 2014 is a key day in the history of Donbas and praised the "firm determination" of the inhabitants of Donetsk in supporting the independence of the territory to "defend their language, culture and free development," while fighting against "the aggression of the nationalists, who came to power in Kiev as a result of a coup d'état." The separatist referendums in southeastern Ukraine took place at a time of fighting and without international observers. A day after its celebration, Donetsk and Lugansk proclaimed their independence and asked to be integrated into Russia, something that happened in September 2022, half a year after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, Moscow, which claimed to "respect the results" of the 2014 vote without taking legal action, waited those years in an attempt to resolve the conflict through diplomatic channels. Read Also: Putin reappoints Mishustin as Prime Minister of Russia (Portuguese version)