Hear what CNN reporter noticed about crowd watching Putin's speech

JUST A FEW MOMENTS AGO IN MOSCOW, A MAJOR ESCALATION IN RUSSIA'S WAR, VLADIMIR PUTIN IMMEDIATELY ANNEXED RUSSIAN TERRITORIES, AGAIN ILLEGALLY. IT IS A MEASURE WORLD LEADERS SAY WILL NOT BE RECOGNIZED. JOINING ME MATTHEW CHANCE AND NICK PAYTON WALSH. THE INTERESTING THING IS THAT WE HAD SEEN THAT FAST SPEED COUNTER OFFENSIVE BY THE UKRAINIANS TO AVOID THIS AT THE EARLY OF THIS MONTH. HAVING SAID ALL THIS, VLADIMIR PUTIN DOUBLES AND FOLLOWS UP THIS ANNEXATION. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THAT RAPID ADVANCE OF UKRAINIAN FORCES ON THE GROUND, WHICH NICK WILL TELL YOU ABOUT IN A MINUTE, THAT PUTIN HAS PRESENTED THIS REFERENDUM TO INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS AND THAT HE'S GOING TO DO THIS, HE'S DETERMINED TO DO THAT, DESPITE THAT IT DOES NOT CONTROL LARGE AREAS OF TERRITORY THAT IS ABOUT TO BE ANNEXED.

NOW HE HAS DELIVERED THIS SPEECH IN MOSCOW, THE NEXT STEP FOR THE FORMAL ANNEXATION OF THESE TERRITORIES. HE SAID THAT THERE ARE NOW FOUR NEW REGIONS OF RUSSIA AND CALLED KIEV TO RETURN TO THE NEGOTIATION TABLE AND MADE IT CLEAR THAT EVEN THOUGH RUSSIA WAS LOOKING FOR A PEACE AGREEMENT, THESE REGIONS WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR NEGOTIATION. HE SAID THESE PEOPLE WILL BE IN RUSSIA FOREVER, I'M PARAPHRASING IT HERE. HAS DRAWN THE RUSSIAN RED LINE. WE ALSO KNOW THAT VLADIMIR PUTIN HAS DECLARED THAT HE WILL DEFEND THESE TERRITORIES AS THEY ARE FROM MOTHER RUSSIA, INCLUDING NUCLEAR WEAPONS, AS NECESSARY.

I WANT TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT THE COUNTER DEFENSIVE. WE HAVE PUTIN LYING TO THE PUBLIC AND LYING TO THE WORLD SAYING THIS IS NOW PART OF MOTHER RUSSIA. PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY SAID FROM THE FIRST DAY, IF THERE IS A REFERENDUM, AN ANNEXATION, THERE IS NO GOING BACK, HE WILL NOT GO TO THE NEGOTIATION TABLE. So

what

will happen next in terms of possible talks between these two parties? Reporter: I THINK THE PERSPECTIVE IS PRETTY REMOTE. THIS APPEARS TO BE THE GREAT WORK OF THE KREMLIN HERE, AGAIN PAINTING RUSSIA HAS A VICTIM. IT'S ESSENTIALLY SAYING: LET'S HAVE A UNILATERAL CEASE FIRE, LET'S STOP FIGHTING AND GO TO THE NEGOTIATION TABLE.

RUSSIA HAS USED DIPLOMACY TO PURSUE ITS POLITICAL OBJECTIVES. YOU APPEAR TO BE KEEPING THAT HERE WITH THE BACKGROUND THREAT YOU JUST HEARD OF A POSSIBLE NUCLEAR FORCE, SOMETHING OF COURSE EVERYONE SHOULD TREAT AS REMOTE AND THE LATEST HORRIBLE IDEA, BUT IN THE BACKGROUND THROUGHOUT ALL OF THIS. LOOKING AT THE CROWD AFTER THAT SPEECH, THERE WERE NOT MANY CONVINCED FACES. ON THE GROUND OF UKRAINE AS RUSSIA ANNOUNCES THESE NEW AREAS OF ITS TERRITORY, THE PARTS THAT UKRAINE CONTROLS ARE GROWING HOUR BY HOUR. ONE OF THE FOUR REGIONS THEY SAY IS PART OF RUSSIA, THEY ARE ON THE BORDER WHICH HAS THOUSANDS OF RUSSIA'S BEST TROOPS, IS CLOSE TO BEING SURROUNDED BY A VERY FAST UKRAINIAN ADVANCE.

WE'VE SEEN HOW ACROSS THE FIELD HERE IN THE PAST WEEKS. CONTINUES IN OTHER SURROUNDINGS OF LIUHANSK. IT IS ON THE GROUND BEING SLOWLY DISMANTLED HOUR BY HOUR AND SOME SEE THIS FENCE AS THE POSSIBILITY OF ANOTHER RUSSIAN COLLAPSE LIKE WE SAW IN KHARKIV. SUPPLY LINES WERE HIT, THE RUSSIAN ARMY RUN. THAT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE HERE. PUTIN GIVES US THIS EXTRAORDINARY VISION OF A THREATENED RUSSIA THAT NOW DECLARES ITS EXPANDED TERRITORY BUT AT THE SAME TIME ITS CONVENTIONAL FORCES HAVE BEEN FAILING HERE FOR WEEKS, HE HAS MANAGED TO SEND MORE THAN 200,000 OUT OF RUSSIA TO AVOID IT BUT WE HAVE NOT SEEN TENS OF THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS HERE PROPERLY EQUIPPED.

WE ARE AT A DANGEROUS MOMENT WHERE RUSSIA APPEARS TO HAVE PLAYED ITS CARD SAID THESE ARE NOW PARTS OF RUSSIA, DO NOT TOUCH THEM OR WE RESERVE OUR RIGHT TO DEFEND THEM. MORE DIPLOMACY IS REQUESTED BUT IT IS LIKELY TO BE REJECTED AND WE HAVE MOMENTS LEFT WHEN UKRAINE KEEPS FORGING BECAUSE RUSSIA DOESN'T APPEAR TO HAVE CONVENTIONAL FORCES THERE TO CHANGE THINGS. THAT ROOM, LOOKS LIKE ANYTHING BUT CELEBRATION. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A RETIREMENT DAY YOU WOULD LIKE TO COPY WHAT HAPPENED IN 2014 WHEN YOU ANNEXED CRIMEA. CLEARLY THE SITUATION IS DIFFERENT RIGHT NOW, YESTERDAY A RARE ADMISSION OF ERRORS WAS MADE THAT CAME TO ME IN TERMS OF THE PARTIAL MOBILIZATION OF TROOPS IN RUSSIA.

AND YOU HAVE SEEN AROUND THE COUNTRY AS WE JUST HEAR THAT MANY, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS MAYBE, OF MEN HAVE BEEN TRYING TO LEAVE BECAUSE THERE IS CONCERN ABOUT THE NUMBER OF MEN WHO HAVE BEEN CALLED TO SERVICE. YES, LOOK, THIS WHOLE ADVENTURE FROM THE KREMLIN'S POINT OF VIEW HAS BEEN ONE MISTAKE AFTER ONE MISTAKE. IT IS JUST AMAZING TO SEE THE FACES OF THE MEN AND WOMEN IN THESE FACILITIES WHILE VLADIMIR PUTIN GIVES THIS SPEECH, WHICH HAS, AS YOU SAY, A CELEBRATION OF THE COCOMIN HOME IN THE LOCAL PARTS OF RUSSIA. EVERYONE HAS A BLANK EXPRESSION BECAUSE THEY KNOW WHAT THE COST HAS BEEN SO FAR FOR THE COUNTRY AND WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE.

ONE OF THE THINGS HE SAID AND IT WAS ALMOST INCREDIBLE, WAS HOW WE WERE GOING TO REBUILD THE DESTROYED CITIES AND MAKE THESE REGIONS PROSPER AGAIN AND THERE WAS NOT A GLIMMER OF AGREEMENT ON THEIR FACE. THEY ARE SITTING THERE BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN TOLD TO SIT THERE AND NOD THEIR HEADS. THESE ARE SOME OF. ALSO THE POOREST REGIONS OF UKRAINE, ESPECIALLY DONBAS. THEY ARE INDUSTRIAL REGIONS AND THEY HAVE POTENTIAL BUT THEY HAVE BEEN DEVASTATED AND WASTED IN THE RECENT MONTHS. WE SHOULD NOT LOOK LIGHTLY AT THIS NUCLEAR THREAT THAT CONTINUES TO HANG. I hope we don't see that day.

IT IS A CAUSE OF CONCERN HERE. IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU ON THE SET. THANKS TO YOU.