Extract from ABC News
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed treaties to annex four occupied regions of Ukraine, following a series of votes that Kyiv and the West have denounced as illegal, sham referendums.
Key points:
- Mr Putin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian territories in front of hundreds of dignitaries in the Kremlin
- The annexed regions' pro-Moscow administrators were present at the ceremony to sign treaties to join Russia
- Mr Putin urged Ukraine to cease military action and return to the negotiating table
In a major speech held at the Kremlin on Friday, Mr Putin declared Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia would be folded into Russia.
"This is the will of millions of people," he said in front of hundreds of dignitaries at the ornate St George's Hall.
"People have made their choice at referendums in Ukraine's territories," he said.
"There are four new regions of Russia."
Mr Putin said the people living in the annexed regions were now Russian compatriots "forever".
He accused Kyiv of threatening people who took part in the referendums with "repression" and warned "Kyiv should respect the will of the people", alluding to his repeated threats to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia's "territorial integrity".
"We will defend our land with all means ... we will work to increase security in [the] new regions," he said.
Putin uses speech to criticise the West
At a ceremony that Kyiv called a "Kremlin freak show" devoid of legal meaning, Mr Putin went on a 37-minute tirade against the West, accusing it of "sheer Satanism".
He accused the United States and its allies of waging a "hybrid war" against Russia and the separatist administrations Russia backed in eastern Ukraine.
He added that the West had broken its promises to Russia and had no moral right to talk about democracy, and countries of the West were acting as the imperialist states they had "always been".
Mr Putin also accused the US and its allies of blowing up the underwater Nord Stream gas pipelines earlier this week, offering no evidence to his claim.
"The sanctions were not enough for the Anglo-Saxons: they moved onto sabotage," he said.
"It is hard to believe but it is a fact that they organised the blasts on the Nord Stream international gas pipelines."
His accusation are likely to be strongly resisted by European countries, while the US — which has said it was too early to confirm it was sabotage — has already dismissed talk it was responsible.
In his speech, the Russian leader also urged Ukraine to cease military action and return to the negotiating table, though he ruled out any possibility of returning Ukrainian territory.
"We are ready for this ... But we will not discuss the choice of the people [in annexed regions]," Mr Putin said.
"That has been made. Russia will not betray them."
Ukraine applies for fast-track NATO membership
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of rewriting history and redrawing borders "using murder, blackmail, mistreatment and lies," something he said Kyiv would not allow.
Mr Zelenskyy announced on Friday that Ukraine would formally applying for fast-track membership to join the NATO military alliance, something Mr Putin has desperately sought to avoid.
During a video message, the Ukrainian leader also said Kyiv remained committed to the idea of co-existence with Russia "on equal, honest, dignified and fair conditions", but that it was unlikely while Mr Putin remained.
"Clearly, with this Russian president [that] is impossible. He does not know what dignity and honesty are. Therefore, we are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia," Mr Zelenskyy said.
He later thanked United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for reiterating Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territories was in violation of international law.
Symbolic signing of 'treaties' with Moscow
Mr Putin was joined by the annexed regions' pro-Moscow administrators to sign accession treaties in front of an audience of Moscow's political elite.
They then all clasped hands and chanted "Russia! Russia!" in unison with members of the applauding audience.
Both houses of the Kremlin-controlled Russian parliament will meet next week to rubber-stamp the treaties for the regions to join Russia, to be sent to Mr Putin for his final approval.
Putin attracts worldwide condemnation
Western countries responded with an avalanche of condemnation and announcement of more punishment of Russia.
The US announced sanctions for more than 1,000 people and firms connected to Russia’s invasion, including its Central Bank governor.
The European Union rejected and condemned “the illegal annexation”, saying the it "does not and will never" recognise the move by Moscow.
President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen said the "illegal annexation proclaimed by Putin" would not change anything.
"All territories illegally occupied by Russian invaders are Ukrainian land and will always be part of this sovereign nation," she wrote on social media.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called it “the largest attempted annexation of European territory by force since the second world war.”
He said the war is at “a pivotal moment,” and that Mr Putin’s decision to annex more territory – Russia now has claimed to have sovereignty over 15 per cent of the country – marks “the most serious escalation since the start of the war.”
After the Kremlin annexation ceremony, the Russian leader joined thousands gathered in Red Square on Friday night for a concert and rally to celebrate the amalgamation of the country's 'new territories'.
Many waved Russian flags as entertainers from Russia and occupied parts of Ukraine performed, signing patriotic songs.
Multiple Russian media reports said people at state-run companies and institutions were told to attend, and students were allowed to skip classes for their presence.
ABC/Wires
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