After Red Square in central Moscow was decorated with flags and deputies, ministers and hundreds of Russian officials attended the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the official annexation of four Ukrainian regions to his country, Donetsk and Luhansk. In addition to Zaporizhia and Kherson, he emphasized that this decision was finally resolved.
To warm applause, Putin promised to rebuild these cities so that residents would feel safe and secure. He emphasized that the residents of those areas have become Russian citizens.
At the same time, he announced his readiness to stop the war and negotiate with Kyiv.
In addition, the master of the Kremlin strongly criticized the “hegemonic” policies of the West, emphasizing that “his country is stable and strong with today and its history” and at the same time said: “The reality is the collapse of the Soviet Union. It cannot be changed.”
He stated that Western countries want to loot Russia’s wealth and do not want it to be strong, and emphasized that the military forces will defend the country, including the new regions, with all possible means.
He also emphasized that “his country has a history of more than a thousand years and therefore will never be subject to the dictates of the West.”
Putin has accused the United States of being involved in sabotage operations that have affected the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines that run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
After a long speech by the Russian president, the leaders of the four regions (loyal to Moscow) signed decrees of annexation, which included more than 15 percent of Ukraine’s territory within Russian territory.
It’s worth noting that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier today that it should be “clarified” whether the annexation would include the entire Zaporizhia and Kherson regions or only the parts controlled by Russian forces, but Putin’s speech today was not. Go into these details.
As for Donetsk and Luhansk, Moscow recognized their sovereignty at the end of last February, before launching military operations in the territory of its western neighbor.
According to the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russians currently control 72 percent of Zaporizhia, while about 88 percent of the territory of Kherson and its capital of the same name are under Russian control.
Source: Lebanon Debate
