FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to declare the annexation of the Russian-controlled territories of four Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, after holding what Russian authorities called referendums in the occupied areas of Ukraine that were condemned by Kyiv and governments worldwide, in the Georgievsky Hall of the Great Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, September 30, 2022. Sputnik/Grigory Sysoyev/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a televised meeting with teachers on Wednesday that Russia has "great respect" for the Ukrainian people, despite what he called "the current situation".
Referring to the four partly Russian-controlled Ukrainian regions that he declared Russian territory on Friday, Putin said he expected the situation there to "stabilise".
(Reporting by Reuters)
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