Putin says Crimea returned "to our common family" in speech marking 10th anniversary of annexation Putin added: “Through decades, they carried faith in their fatherland. They never separated themselves from Russia and that’s what allowed Crimea to return to our common family.” Other presidential candidates also joined Putin on stage and gave remarks. Nikolai Kharitonov, who finished in second place with only 4% of the vote said: “Of Russia and Crimea, there is only one motherland. And I congratulate you on this 10th anniversary.” Third-place finisher Vladislav Davankov said: “Dear friends, I will always remember that feeling of pride for my country and my president, exactly 10 years ago and I congratulate you. I congratulate you on that event,” looking towards Putin. To conclude the remarks, Putin said: “All glory to Russia.” The Russian national anthem was then sung onstage by Putin, the other candidates, and featured performers. Summary That concludes today’s updates on the Russia-Ukraine war. Here’s what happened: Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was “critically important” for the US to provide additional military aid to Ukraine, during a meeting with US senator Lindsey Graham on Monday. “It is critically important for us that the Congress soon completes all the necessary procedures and makes a final decision … which will strengthen the Ukrainian economy and our armed forces,” Zelenskiy said in a statement, AFP reported. Putin declared the Donbas and other occupied areas as the “New Russia” during a speech in Moscow’s Red Square remarks to mark his re-election and the 10th anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, BBC reported. Putin added that a new rail link is being built through parts of occupied Ukraine, noting that those regions have “declared their desire to return to their native family”. Putin added that Crimea returned ‘to our common family’ during his remarks. “Through decades, they carried faith in their fatherland. They never separated themselves from Russia and that’s what allowed Crimea to return to our common family,” he said. Putin also compared Crimea to an aircraft carrier that returned to its “home harbor”. “Ten years ago here, in the Red Square, on this very stage, I recalled that Crimea is often called an unsinkable aircraft carrier and it is appropriate to say that Crimea has returned to the home harbor,” Putin said. An independent Russian vote monitoring group has said that the presidential election that Vladimir Putin won in a landslide with nearly 90% of the vote was the most fraudulent and corrupt in the country’s history. Golos (Voice) said the three-day election that ended on Sunday could not be considered genuine because “the campaign took place in a situation where the fundamental articles of the Russian constitution, guaranteeing political rights and freedoms, were essentially not in effect”. “Never before have we seen a presidential campaign that fell so far short of constitutional standards,” the group said in a statement. That’s it for today. Thank you for reading. Here’s more information on Western reaction to Putin’s election from the Guardian’s Pjotr Sauer. EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell said that EU foreign ministers strongly support taking revenue from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, but no consensus has been reached, Reuters reported. “I am not saying there was unanimity but [there was] a strong consensus to take this decision,” Borrell said on Monday to reporters following a meeting with the ministers held in Brussels. Meanwhile, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was “critically important” for the US to provide additional military aid to Ukraine, during a meeting with US senator Lindsey Graham. “It is critically important for us that the Congress soon completes all the necessary procedures and makes a final decision … which will strengthen the Ukrainian economy and our armed forces,” Zelenskiy said in a statement, AFP reported. A $60bn aid package to Ukraine is currently being stalled by Republicans in the House of Representatives, who want additional aid to be connected to tougher policies on immigration. Putin says Ukraine region of Donbas and other occupied areas part of "New Russia" Putin also declared the Donbas and other occupied areas as the “New Russia”, in his Red Square remarks, BBC reported. Putin added that a new rail link is being built through parts of occupied Ukraine, adding that those regions have “declared their desire to return to their native family”. “All this is happening thanks to you, citizens of Russia,” Putin added. Putin says Crimea returned "to our common family" in speech marking 10th anniversary of annexation Putin added: “Through decades, they carried faith in their fatherland. They never separated themselves from Russia and that’s what allowed Crimea to return to our common family.” Other presidential candidates also joined Putin on stage and gave remarks. Nikolai Kharitonov, who finished in second place with only 4% of the vote said: “Of Russia and Crimea, there is only one motherland. And I congratulate you on this 10th anniversary.” Third-place finisher Vladislav Davankov said: “Dear friends, I will always remember that feeling of pride for my country and my president, exactly 10 years ago and I congratulate you. I congratulate you on that event,” looking towards Putin. To conclude the remarks, Putin said: “All glory to Russia.” The Russian national anthem was then sung onstage by Putin, the other candidates, and featured performers. Putin says "Crimea has returned to the home harbor" In brief remarks, Putin spoke on the importance of Crimea on the 10th anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the region. “Ten years ago here, in the Red Square, on this very stage, I recalled that Crimea is often called an unsinkable aircraft carrier and it is appropriate to say that Crimea has returned to the home harbor,” Putin said. “But Crimea is not only strategically important territory, not only our history, our traditions, and Russia’s pride. Crimea, above all is people … they are our pride.” Vladimir Putin has just come on stage at the rally to celebrate his election and the 10th anniversary of the unilateral annexation of Crimea. The large crowd applauded his arrival and briefly chanted. Stay tuned for more of his remarks. A concert and rally are now under way in Moscow’s Red Square to celebrate Putin’s election and the 10th anniversary of the annexation of Crimea. The band Radio Tapok is currently performing, BBC Russia’s Liza Fokht reports. Crowds gather near Red Square ahead of rally to mark Russia"s annexation of Crimea and Putin"s election victory A rally/concert to mark the 10th anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea is due to take place shortly. The event, being held in central Moscow, will also mark Vladimir Putin’s electoral victory. Much of the Russian president’s address is likely to focus on his invasion of Ukraine, a topic that he made front and centre in his victory speech on Sunday night. Some Telegram channels have reported that university students have been bussed into Moscow for the event, which is being heavily policed, according to BBC News. Summary of the day so far... An independent Russian vote monitoring group has said that the presidential election that Vladimir Putin won in a landslide with nearly 90% of the vote was the most fraudulent and corrupt in the country’s history. Golos (Voice) said the three-day election that ended on Sunday could not be considered genuine because “the campaign took place in a situation where the fundamental articles of the Russian constitution, guaranteeing political rights and freedoms, were essentially not in effect”. “Never before have we seen a presidential campaign that fell so far short of constitutional standards,” the group said in a statement. The European Council has agreed to increase its support to the Ukrainian armed forces by €5bn ($5.44bn; £4.3bn), through a dedicated assistance fund, it said in a statement. “With the fund, we will continue to support Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s war of aggression with whatever it takes and for as long as we need to,” the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said. The Kremlin said that the only way to protect Russian territory from Ukrainian attacks was to create a buffer zone that would put Russian regions beyond the reach of Ukrainian fire. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “Against the backdrop of (Ukrainian) drone attacks and the shelling of our territory: public facilities, residential buildings, measures must be taken to secure these territories. They can only be secured by creating some kind of buffer zone so that any means that the enemy uses to strike us are out of range.” Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters that Vladimir Putin’s statement that he wanted to create a buffer zone in Ukrainian territory is a clear declaration that the war will escalate. “This is … a direct manifest statement that the war will only escalate,” he said. Western leaders and ministers have denounced what they have described as a sham Russian election, in which Putin won a fifth term as Russian president by a landslide of about 87%, according to exit polls. The EU has said the Russian election took place in a highly restricted environment “exacerbated by Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine”. Latvian minister Krišjānis Kariņš said: “Russia will not stop, they can only be stopped. Ukraine is prepared to do the stopping but they need our assistance.” Adding to western condemnation of the Russian presidential election’s outcome and process, the UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, said the election highlighted the “depth of repression” in the country under Putin. “These Russian elections starkly underline the depth of repression under President Putin’s regime, which seeks to silence any opposition to his illegal war,” Cameron, who is a former Conservative prime minister, said in a statement, referring to the war in Ukraine. “Putin removes his political opponents, controls the media, and then crowns himself the winner. This is not democracy.” China’s president, Xi Jinping, congratulated Putin on winning another term as Russia’s president and said China was set to maintain close communication with Russia to promote their partnership, according to Chinese state media. “Your re-election is a full demonstration of the support of the Russian people for you,” Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua News. “I believe that under your leadership, Russia will certainly be able to achieve greater achievements in national development and construction.” India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, congratulated Putin on his election win, saying that he was looking forward to strengthening ties to develop their “special and privileged” strategic partnership in the years to come. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina senator and foreign policy hawk who has long advocated arming Ukraine against Russian invaders, arrived in Kyiv on Monday morning. “Unwavering US support is critical to Ukraine’s success in confronting an illegal full-scale war with Russia,” the US embassy captioned the photo of his arrival by train.