By Paul Akalonu
Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, is currently in Kremlin, Moscow for the formal takeover of four Ukrainian areas.
At a lavish ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed four territories in Ukraine controlled by his army and urged Kyiv to lay down its arms and negotiate an end to seven months of fighting.
The extravagant event in the Kremlin, a watershed moment in recent post-Soviet history, came only hours after a shelling in Ukraine’s southern region of Zaporizhzhia killed 25 people, one of the bloodiest attacks on civilians in months.
During an address to Russia’s most senior political elite, Putin was uncompromising, telling the West that the territorial grab was irrevocable and urging Ukraine’s empowered army to give up and negotiate a surrender.
Putin has declared that the four Russian-occupied districts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia will join the Russian Federation.
According to Putin, who declared war on Ukraine on February 24, the four regions would be included following Kremlin-managed “referendums.”
While the West has objected to the measure, Putin has decided to go ahead with it.
“I order the recognition of the state sovereignty and independence,” Putin said.
Following the closing of voting in the areas on Tuesday, the official annexation was generally predicted.
