Guwahati: The annexation of four regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia—was officially proclaimed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, according to media reports. He asserted that “this is the choice of millions of people.”
In a lengthy address at a Kremlin event announcing the acquisition of Ukrainian territory, Putin stated, “There are four new regions of Russia.” According to Al Jazeera, the address was replete with harsh criticism of Ukraine and its Western backers. According to Putin, those living in the four annexing regions will now be “citizens for life” of Russia.
Putin criticised Western nations, which have imposed severe sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, while simultaneously denying that he was trying to revive the Soviet Union through the aforementioned annexation.
Putin went on to say that Russia would now protect its new territory “with all the tools at its disposal” in a resounding declaration.
According to Al Jazeera, the Russian President defended his country’s choice to hold the referendum and declare the annexation of the area by saying that the residents of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia had an “integral right” to become part of Russia.
Putin went on to say that the residents of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine were “victims of cruel terrorist attacks carried out by the Kyiv dictatorship.”
Additionally, he referred to the referendum’s outcome as “the will of millions of people.”
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, took a significant step by signing a proclamation recognising the purported “independence” of the Ukrainian provinces of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Additionally, according to media reports, the UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution on Friday that will criticise Russia for holding referenda in four territories that it controls but that Ukraine claims.
According to CNN, the US-sponsored resolution would urge all nations to reject the change in the status of the four regions. The resolution, which is also supported by Albania, would reiterate the UN’s support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
Any acquisition of a state’s territory by another state brought about by a “threat or use of force,” according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, is against international law and the UN charter.
“In this moment of peril, I must underscore my duty as Secretary-General to uphold the @UNCharter. The charter is clear. Any annexation of a state’s territory by another state resulting from the threat or use of force is a violation of the Principles of the Charter & international law,” Guterres tweeted.
According to reports in the media, on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia of annexing parts of Ukraine and declared that this was against international law. The top US ambassador declared that the US will never recognise Moscow’s annexation, calling Moscow’s action a “land grab.”
“The Kremlin’s sham referenda are a futile effort to mask what amounts to a further attempt at a land grab in Ukraine,” Blinken said in a statement.