Putin does not stop and openly challenges the West annexing the four Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Lugansk after the bogus referendums of recent days. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky goes ahead of him and asks accelerated accession to NATO.
Putin annexes the 4 Ukrainian regions
“I want them to feel me in Kiev, to feel me in the West: people living in Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia become our citizens forever“, said Putin, opening the signing ceremony of the annexation treaties in Moscow of the four Ukrainian regions.
Ukraine must "cease fire that began in 2014, we are ready to return to the negotiating table. But the choice of annexation of the population of the four Ukrainian regions is no longer in question,” Putin said. “We will defend our land by all means at our disposal,” he continued, adding that “The Soviet Union has passed and will not return. But Russians living outside Russia's borders can return to their “historical homeland. “Love for Russia is an indestructible feeling. That is why young people born after the tragedy of the fall of the Soviet Union also voted ”for annexation, she said.
Then the attack: “The West has been looking for and is looking for a new opportunity to weaken and destroy Russia, are obsessed with the existence of such a huge country", declared the Russian president, accusing the West of waging a "hybrid war on Russia" which "has regained its place in the world" after "the tragic 90s ”, when in the country “people were dying of hunger”. That of the West is “a delirium, a real deception, with double and triple standards. With all these fake rules Russia has no intention of living”. Indeed, Putin underlines how Western leaders are "always the same: colonizers".
During his speech, Putin blamed the "Anglo-Saxons" of having sabotaged the pipeline Nord Stream, then moving on to attack the US: "The United States is the only country in the world to have used nuclear weapons twice, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus setting a precedent," he said. “Most of the nations of the world want to cooperate with Russia,” she added, but Europe "gives in" to US demands of new sanctions against Moscow. “Many politicians obey, meekly”, she continued, also quoting among European countries Italy and Germany, “the consequence is de-industrialization”. The US tries to "take everything by force and blackmail, and they lie like Goebbels".
“Truth triumphs! Great Russia is reborn!Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitri Medvedev wrote on Telegram after the ceremony.
The reactions of EU, UK and USA
“Faced with Russia's war of aggression and the latest escalation in Moscow, the European Union stands resolutely with Ukraine and its people. We are unwavering in our support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. Ukraine is exercising its legitimate right to defend itself from Russian aggression to regain full control of its territory and has the right to liberate the occupied territories within its internationally recognized borders. This is what they write the 27 heads of state and government of the European Union.
“To the Europeans I say: Russia is launching missiles at the Ukrainians but it has also launched an energy missile at the heart of our economic and social system. The damage is massive. Every household in Europe suffers from rising bills and rising supermarket prices. Energy is expensive and this will have a lasting impact on all of us. That is why a new energy union must be developed now with a real common strategy because there is no alternative if we are to ensure alternative supplies, fair prices and the climate transition,” he said. the president of the EU Council Charles Michel in his video message.
US condemns Russia's "fraudulent attempt" to annex parts of Ukraine's sovereign territory, said the President Joe Biden. "These actions have no legitimacy", he continued, promising that the US will continue to support Ukraine's efforts to "regain control of its territory, strengthening it both militarily and diplomatically".
Meanwhile the United States and Great Britain have announced new sanctions against Russia affecting hundreds of deputies and leaders, including the heads of the Russian central bank. The British government, which has also summoned the Russian ambassador, has established that Moscow will lose access to the main Western services on which it depends and an export ban will be introduced for almost 700 goods that are essential for Russia's industrial and technological capabilities. Also sanctioned Elvira Nabiullina, the governor of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
“The declaration of annexation of four Ukrainian regions to the Russian Federation after the sham referendums held under violent military occupation have no legal or political value. Putin once again demonstrates his Soviet-style neo-imperialist vision that threatens the security of the entire European continent. This further violation of the rules of coexistence between nations by Russia confirms the need for compactness and unity of Western democracies", declared the leader of FdI, Giorgia Meloni.
Zelensky relaunches: accelerated membership of NATO
"In fact, we are already in NATO. We have already demonstrated compatibility with the standards of the Alliance”, which “are real for Ukraine, real on the battlefield and in all aspects of our interaction. We trust each other, help each other and protect each other. This is the Alliance,” Zelensky said in a video posted to his profile. “Today, Ukraine is asking to do it de jure. In an accelerated way. We take our decisive step by signing the application form accelerated accession of Ukraine to NATO“, said the Ukrainian president who then rejected to the sender the negotiation proposal (or it would be better to call it a provocation) launched by Putin after the annexation of the 4 Ukrainian regions: “Ukraine will not negotiate with Russiauntil Vladimir Putin is its president. We will negotiate with the new president,” Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram video.
