MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/. Finnish company Valio will continue operating in the Russian Federation, retain jobs and fulfill its obligations to customers and partners, the company announced on Wednesday.

According to the statement, after the decision announced by Finnish concern Valio about its intention to leave the Russian market, operations of Valio LLC in Russia currently continue, the company maintains production and logistics operations, obligations to customers, partners and employees are being fulfilled.

Valio added that in the current circumstances, the company's key priority is to preserve jobs and comply with legal requirements.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.