Russia finally annexed four regions in Ukraine that were partially seized by Ukraine defence ministry said Russian President Putin in a speech on Friday. The annexation followed the referendums that were held in the four regions in South-eastern region. Putin today ceremonially signed the annexation agreements with the Moscow-appointed representatives of the four areas.
Addressing the people of the formally annexed Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, Putin said- Ukraine made a mistake in leaving the USSR. But the annexation which he labelled as an “expression of the will of the people” means that Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson are now “Russia forever”.
“They want to see us as their colony, they want to rob us,” Putin said attacking the west that they are incorporating double standards, triple standards and trying to fool them.
After another digression into history, Putin continued to criticise the US and the West, enumerating historical events such as the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and claiming the US is still holding “Korea, Japan and even Germany” under occupation.
He also blamed the US and the UK for forcing European nations to enact sanctions against Russia, as well as forcing the EU not to purchase gas from the Kremlin.