Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed anti-LGBTQ views in his speech following the annexation of four Eastern Ukrainian regions into Russian territory. Putin delivered the speech last Friday in Moscow after Ukrainians in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia voted to join Russia. The four territories held elections overseen by Russian military troops and pro-Russian separatists. The U.S. has since called the elections a fraudulent “sham” meant to justify Russia’s taking of Ukrainian land. In his speech, Putin criticized the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Western alliance seeking to limit Russia’s military expansion.