Russia annexes four Ukraine regions, invites US-UK curbs

Washington, September 30

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties on Friday to illegally annex four regions of Ukraine—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia—in a sharp escalation of his seven-month invasion. Ukraine President countered with a surprise application to join the NATO military alliance.

Putin’s land-grab and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's signing of what he said is an “accelerated” NATO membership application sent the two leaders speeding faster on a collision course that is cranking up fears of a full-blown conflict between Russia and the West.

Putin vowed to protect newly annexed regions of Ukraine by “all available means," a renewed nuclear-backed threat he made at a Kremlin signing ceremony where he also railed furiously against the West, accusing the United States and its allies of seeking Russia's destruction.

Meanwhile, the US and the UK imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Russia over its declared annexation of parts of Ukraine, targeting hundreds of people and companies, including those in Russia's military-industrial complex and lawmakers.

US President Joe Biden said, "We will rally the international community to both denounce these moves and to hold Russia accountable. We will continue to provide Ukraine with the equipment it needs to defend itself."

The US president also urged Congress to provide an additional USD12 billion to support Ukraine.

The United Kingdom government imposed new services and goods export bans on Russia. The sanctions are designed to target vulnerable sectors of the Russian economy, including IT consultancy, architectural services, engineering services and transactional legal advisory services for certain commercial activity. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the Russian move constituted the most serious escalation of the conflict since Moscow invaded Ukraine. — Agencies  

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