Putin also accused the West of organising blasts that resulted in multiple gas leaks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Europe. Photograph Reuters )
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Putin joined hands with the Moscow-installed heads of the regions on a stage in front of the Russian elite and chanted alongside them "Russia! Russia!"
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday annexed four Ukrainian territories controlled by his army at a grand ceremony in the Kremlin. It came hours after 25 people were killed in Ukraine's southern region of Zaporizhzhia in an attack.
"People living in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson region and Zaporizhzhia region are becoming our compatriots forever," Putin told a crowd of officials in a ceremony in an ornate hall.
Putin joined hands with the Moscow-installed heads of the regions on a stage in front of the Russian elite and chanted alongside them "Russia! Russia!". He said the people of the regions had made an "univocal choice" to join Russia after so-called referendums that Moscow organised.
In his speech, Putin told the West that the annexation was irreversible and called on Ukraine's army to give up and negotiate a surrender.
"We call on the Kyiv regime to immediately stop fighting and stop all hostilities... and return to the negotiating table," the Russian leader said.
Later, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country is applying to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) “under an accelerated procedure". He signed Ukraine’s application together with Speaker of the Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk and Prime Minister Denys Shmygal.
Meanwhile, the United States imposed sweeping sanctions on hundreds of people and companies, including members of Russia's legislature, military and central bank after the annexation.
The US treasury department said it imposed sanctions on 14 people in Russia's military-industrial complex, two leaders of the country's central bank, family members of top officials and 278 members of Russia's legislature "for enabling Russia's sham referendums and attempt to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory".
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The US treasury also warned that heightened sanctions will be imposed on anyone outside Russia who provides political or economic support to Moscow.
Meanwhile, in his speech, Putin also claimed the West wanted to see Russia as a "colony".
"It is out of greed, with the aim of maintaining its unlimited power. These are the real reasons for this hybrid war that the West is waging against us... They want to make us into a colony," Putin said in televised remarks.
"They don't need Russia at all," he said.
He also accused the West of organising blasts that resulted in multiple gas leaks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Europe. "Sanctions are not enough for the West, they have switched to sabotage. Unbelievable, but it is a fact!"
Reuters )
