NB BUREAU
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday announced the annexation of Ukraine’s four areas – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – escalating his seven-month war on Ukraine.
Addressing the hundreds of dignitaries in the St George’s Hall of the Kremlin, Putin urges Ukraine to sit down for talks but warns that Moscow will not give up the newly incorporated regions.
“”This is the will of millions of people,” he said in a speech.
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Friday that Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions was illegal and that occupied land would remain part of Ukraine.
“The illegal annexation proclaimed by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin won’t change anything,” von der Leyen said on Twitter after Russia’s annexation of the areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
“All territories illegally occupied by Russian invaders are Ukrainian land and will always be part of this sovereign nation,” von der Leyen added
The illegal annexation proclaimed by Putin won’t change anything.
All territories illegally occupied by Russian invaders are Ukrainian land and will always be part of this sovereign nation.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 30, 2022
