Putin declares annexation of four Ukraine regions; West issues new sanctions
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sept. 30 declared the annexation of four occupied Ukrainian regions amid his country’s 7-month-old war, heightening tensions with the West as the move immediately prompted a fresh wave of criticism and sanctions.
Moscow’s unilateral action to absorb some 15% of Ukraine’s territory came after it said local populations voted to join Russia in recent referendums, with Kyiv and the West condemning the polls as illegitimate.
“People living in Luhansk, Donetsk, (the) Kherson region and (the) Zaporizhzhia region are becoming our compatriots forever,” Putin said. “They have made a choice to be with their people, their motherland, to live with its fate.”
It is the second time since the end of the Cold War that Russia has allegedly expanded its territory. The first took place in 2014 upon the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, also after a discredited referendum.
The Group of Seven leading economies criticized the latest development, saying it constitutes “a new low point in Russia’s blatant flouting of international law.” (Kyodo, Reuters)
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