As the war between Russia and Ukraine advances into its eighth month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties on Friday which permitted the absorption of several parts of occupied Ukraine into Russia, defying international laws.
This comes just as several western countries have shown their direct support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, condemning the actions taken by President Vladimir Putin to invade his neighbouring country despite calls for peace.
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In a ceremony in the Kremlin's opulent white-and-gold St. George's Hall, Putin and the heads of the four regions of Ukraine put their names on treaties for them to join Russia. The action represents a sharp escalation in the seven-month conflict in Ukraine.
The signing came three days after the completion of Kremlin-orchestrated “referendums” on joining Russia that was dismissed by Kyiv and the West as a bare-faced land grab, held at gunpoint and based on lies.
The separatist Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine have been backed by Moscow since declaring independence in 2014, weeks after the annexation of Ukraine's the Crimean Peninsula. The southern Kherson region and part of the neighboring Zaporizhzhia were captured by Russia soon after Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.
Both houses of the Kremlin-controlled Russian parliament will meet next week to rubber-stamp the treaties for the regions to join Russia, sending them to Putin for his approval.
Earlier this month, Putin had also called for partial mobilization in the country, which alerted of more escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war. Men in Russia aged between 18 and 65 were also banned from leaving the country, likely due to being drafted in the military.
Putin and his lieutenants have bluntly warned Ukraine against pressing an offensive to reclaim the regions, saying Russia would view it as an act of aggression against its sovereign territory and wouldn't hesitate to use “all means available” in retaliation, a reference to Russia's nuclear arsenal.
Earlier, Russia had said that they are hoping to end the conflict with Ukraine soon through dialogue, provided that the country or West does not show any aggression.
(With PTI inputs)
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