After the sham referendums in the four occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Cherson and Zaporizhia, Russia has now officially announced their annexation. Incorporation is not recognized internationally.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sealed the annexation of four areas in Ukraine, most of which are occupied by Russian troops. He signed the relevant documents at a televised ceremony on Friday in the Kremlin. The annexation is not recognized internationally.
The occupation chiefs of the four regions, Denis Pushilin (Donetsk), Leonid Pasechnik (Luhansk), Vladimir Saldo (Kherson) and Yevgeny Balitsky (Zaporizhia), also signed the agreements.
In his speech, Putin explained the annexation as “the will of millions of people.” “There is nothing more important than the will of millions to return to their historic homes,” he said. In this context, he described the collapse of the Soviet Union a good 30 years ago as a tragedy.
Once again he accused the Ukrainian leadership of being made up of neo-Nazis. In his speech, he justified the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine as restoring historical justice and liberating Russia from Western oppression. He called on Kyiv and the West to stop hostilities immediately and start negotiations. The people in Cherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia are now Russian citizens – “forever”.
Big celebration on Red Square
After the annexation, Putin celebrated his illegal actions on Red Square in Moscow. The Kremlin chief called on thousands of people, some waving Russian flags, to shout “hurrah” – “so that they can hear the voice of Red Square thousands of kilometers away.”
With a view to the now annexed Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Cherson, Putin also said: “Russia is not only opening its doors, but also its heart. Welcome home!” He then sang the Russian anthem together with the four crew chiefs from the affected areas.
Only last night did the Kremlin chief recognize the occupied Ukrainian regions of Cherson and Zaporizhia as independent states in another act that violated international law. From Moscow’s point of view, this is a prerequisite for the regions to be able to apply for admission to the Russian Federation. Even before the war began, Putin had declared Donetsk and Luhansk to be independent “people’s republics”.
By the beginning of the week, mock votes on joining Russia had been held in all four regions under the control of the Russian military administration. After that, the Russian occupiers spoke of an allegedly overwhelming approval of the population.
No international recognition of the annexation
The sham referendums on the accession of occupied regions in southern and eastern Ukraine to Russia are not recognized worldwide. This is because they were held in violation of Ukrainian and international laws and without minimum democratic standards. The sham votes were also not verifiable by independent observers. There were also numerous reports that residents of the regions felt pressured.
The four areas are not yet fully controlled by Russia. In addition, the Ukrainian army has launched a counter-offensive, in the course of which it is currently gaining ground in the Donetsk region. The Russian leadership had recently stated several times that it would react “with all available means” to such attacks, which are now being interpreted as attacks against its own territory. Putin repeated this threat during his speech.
This had sparked speculation about a possible nuclear strike by Russia. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dampened such expectations on Friday. He called references to the Russian military doctrine, according to which an attack on Russian state borders could be answered with a nuclear strike, inaccurate. The military doctrine states that Russia can respond to attacks with a nuclear strike if the existence of the state itself is threatened.
Source: Stern
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