President Vladimir Putin signed this Friday the annexation of four regions of Ukraine to Russia during a ceremony in the Kremlin in the presence of the four pro-Russian leaders of these territories controlled wholly or partially by Moscow.
The leaders of the breakaway Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk (east) and Zaporizhia and Kherson (south) signed the annexation documents together with Vladimir Putin in front of an audience of government officials, deputies and senators, and other members of the Russian political elite . .
They then joined hands before chanting “Russia!” in unison with the room, according to images on Russian television.
“Our Citizens Forever”
In his pre-annexation speech, Vladimir Putin called on Kyiv to “immediately stop firing, all hostilities and return to the negotiating table.”
“But the election of the residents of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson will not be discussed. It has been achieved and Russia will not betray it,” he warned.
Casting aside Western criticism, Vladimir Putin added: “The people of Lugansk and Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia become our citizens forever.”
“The people voted for our common future,” he said after the organization of annexation “referendums” condemned by Kyiv and its allies. “We will defend our land with all our forces and means,” Vladimir Putin said, while Russian officials repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons to defend the newly incorporated Ukrainian territories on Friday.
Source: BFM TV
