Putin Says Four Annexed Ukraine Regions Are "Russian Forever"

Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally announced the Kremlin’s intention to annex nearly a fifth of Ukraine in blatant violation of international law. Once the process is officially complete, Moscow will recognize four Ukrainian regions as Russian territory: Luhansk and Donetsk – home to two Russian-backed breakaway republics where fighting has been ongoing since 2014 – as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, two areas in southern Ukraine that have been occupied by Russian forces since shortly after the invasion began.

In a speech (posted a short clip above) preceding a treaty-signing ceremony to make four Ukrainian regions part of Russia, Putin warned his country would never give up the occupied areas and would protect them as part of its sovereign territory.

Retaking it could open the path for Ukraine to push deep into one of the regions Russia is absorbing, a move widely condemned as illegal that opens a dangerous new phase of the seven-month war.

Russia on Friday (today) also pounded Ukrainian cities with missiles, rockets, and suicide drones, with one strike reported to have killed 25 people (reported by AP news). The salvos together amounted to the heaviest barrage that Russia has unleashed for weeks.

Where are the billions of dollars of military aid from the US taxpayers going? Weren't they leading in aggression against Russia? 🤥