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Russia annexed four regions of Ukraine


Vladimir Putin will annex four regions in southeastern Ukraine – none of which Russia fully controls – on Friday, in a significant escalation of the conflict with Kyiv.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian President, said on Thursday that Putin would sign a “treaty” with Russian-appointed occupation officials and give a “major speech” during a ceremony in the Kremlin. , state news agency Ria Novosti reported.

Russian forces held highly staged administered votes last weekend in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine under their control, claiming locals had overwhelmingly vote to participate Russia Profit rate up to 99%.

Ukraine and its Western allies have refused to accept “fake referendums”, in some cases run by armed “brigades” that deliver ballot boxes to locals’ homes. direction.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday pledged a “tough” military response from Kyiv to Russia’s annexation.

“The territorial integrity of Ukraine will be restored. And our reaction to Russia’s recognition of its results will be very harsh,” Zelenskyy said in a phone call with outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that Russia’s fake referendums were “a futile attempt to conceal what is involved in a further attempt to seize land” and that the United States would never recognized these areas.

European Commission spokeswoman Dana Spinant said: “We will never accept any territorial annexation or any land grab by Russia.” “We are ready to make the Kremlin pay a heavy price for this new escalation in the conflict,” she added.

Putin’s decision to annex territories – the largest forced territorial takeover in Europe since the second world war – is an attempt to raise the stakes in seven months to full scale. your Invasion of Ukraine.

The plan to overthrow the Ukrainian government in a few days failed spectacularly as the Russian army suffered significant losses, while the supply of advanced Western weapons helped Ukraine launch a counter-offensive in the northeast in the past few days. recent weeks.

In a fiery speech last week, Putin threw a gauntlet to the west, vowing to use all weapons at his disposal – including nuclear – if Ukraine continued to attack to regain what it was. Putin declared himself part of Russia, and mobilized military reserves to fortify 1,000 kilometers of the front line.

That decision sparked a domestic backlash, sending hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the country.

In a sign that the Kremlin is concerned about criticism, on Thursday, Putin acknowledged that a “mistake” had been made in calling people who had no military experience or qualified for an exemption. apart from.

By laying claim to large parts of the region held by Ukraine, the annexation also pledges Putin to keep fighting.

He defined Russia’s goal for the invasion vaguely but throughout insisted that “liberating” Donbas, the industrial hub that includes Donetsk and Luhansk, was the minimum priority.

Russian forces risk being surrounded by Ukrainian troops in Lyman, a city in the Donetsk region, and face having their supply lines cut off in Kherson as the Ukrainian counter-offensive continues. It is also struggling to capture major cities such as Slovyansk and Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region.

Western nations have vowed to continue providing military support to Ukraine as its troops seek to recapture territories currently under Russian control, despite Putin’s threats.

Privately, however, the US and its European allies are concerned that Russia could use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine and have warned Moscow of the consequences of using them.

Dmitry Medvedev, the former president who replaced Putin and is now vice-chairman of Russia’s security council, wrote on Tuesday that Russia could escape a nuclear attack on Ukraine because the West would be too afraid of the consequences. potential consequences for retaliation.

“This puts us in a place where we need to make some wise decisions and I think not only within the alliance but also in Moscow,” said a senior NATO official. “Maybe it’s time for people to think hard about what they’re doing. And where is the road going?

Nato said all members of the 30-member military alliance “remain resolute in providing political and practical support to Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russian aggression.”

“NATO Allies Won’t Realize” [this] it said in a statement. “These lands are Ukraine. We call on all countries to reject Russia’s blatant attempts to invade territory.”

The move comes as Nato vowed to respond “uniformly and resolutely” to attacks on critical infrastructure used by the military alliance, such as the Nord gas pipeline sabotage. Stream from Russia to Germany. Although no cause has been attributed to Tuesday’s attack, which blew up four holes in a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea, it sparked a war of words between Moscow and Western capitals. West and a significant escalation in concerns about Europe’s energy supplies.



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