Putin promised victory in Ukraine after capturing new territories

Moscow | “Victory is ours!” After Russian President Vladimir Putin formally launched the annexation of four Ukrainian territories on Friday, prompting a chorus of international condemnation and bravado from Kyiv, it vowed to continue liberating its lands.

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The Russian president spoke at a festive concert in Moscow’s Red Square in front of several thousand people who waved Russian flags as his army faced trouble in Ukraine.

“Welcome home,” Vladimir Putin also announced to residents of the annexed Ukrainian territories, affirming that Russia was opening “its heart” to them.

On the same day, a particularly deadly missile attack in Ukrainian-controlled territory near Zaporizhia (southern Ukraine) killed at least 30 civilians.

Shortly before the concert, at a ceremony in the Kremlin, Mr Putin signed annexation documents with the leaders of the separatist regions of Donetsk and Lugansk (eastern Ukraine) and the regions occupied by the Russians, Zaporizhia and Kherson (southern Ukraine). .

In his speech, Mr Putin called on Kyiv to “cease all hostilities and return to the negotiating table” despite recent setbacks against the Russian military by Ukrainian forces, which have partially encircled the strategic town of Lyman since Friday. by (Eastern) Ukrainians.

Russian soldiers at Lyman, an important railway junction, are fighting “at the end of their tether”, and the situation there is “difficult”, pro-Russian separatist Denis Pushilin noted on Friday.

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For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the “significant results” of his forces’ counteroffensive.

“We have significant results in the eastern part of the country […] Everyone heard what was happening in Lyman, Donetsk region. These are steps that mean a lot to us”, he rejoiced in his daily address on social networks.

In the past, he has rejected any talks with Moscow as long as Vladimir Putin is president, while declaring that he will “sign Ukraine’s candidacy for accelerated NATO membership.”

In Washington, the American Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, assured that his country and Canada were in favor of this membership.

After an interview with Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, “we strongly support the entry into NATO of countries that want to join and can contribute their capabilities”. But, he said, “there is a process for that, and countries follow that process.”

US President Joe Biden pledged to “support Ukraine’s efforts to regain control of its territory” and said the United States and its allies would not be “bullied” by President Putin.

His national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said there would be an “immediate security assistance announcement next week” for Ukraine.

Convictions and Penalties

European Union leaders issued a statement on Friday “rejecting” and “condemning” this “illegal merger”.

NATO condemned the ‘illegal’ annexation, while in New York the UN Security Council considered a resolution condemning ‘pseudo-annexations’ in Ukraine, which was promptly blocked by a Russian veto.

Apart from Russia’s abstention, the resolution gathered 10 votes in favor and four countries (China, India, Brazil and Gabon) abstained.

In his Kremlin speech, Mr Putin lashed out at the West, accusing him of protecting a “neo-colonial system that allows it to parasitize and rob the whole world”.

The annexations come after a seven-month Russian offensive in Ukraine and a hastily held “referendum” in the occupied territories, which Kyiv and its allies denounced as a “simulacra.”

In a sign of this haste and a certain disorganization, the Kremlin spokesman announced that Russia should “clarify” whether it annexes the Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia, or only the actually occupied parts.

Sweeping critics, Mr. Putin has promised that he “does not seek” to restore the USSR. He also signed a decree facilitating access to Russian nationality for foreigners who had joined the army, which was intended to recruit immigrants from the former USSR to work in Russia.

fatal strike

On the streets of Moscow, 38-year-old soldier Ildar Babayev told AFP he found the attachments “outrageous”. “It should have happened a long time ago, eight years ago,” he said, during the first conflict between Kyiv and pro-Russian separatists.

In Ukraine, the same day, at least 11 civilians died on the road, shot dead, after the withdrawal of Russian forces from a large part of the Kharkiv region (northeast), an AFP team found.

Since the start of the offensive, Kyiv has denied abuses by the Russian military, allegations Moscow has systematically denied.

At least 30 people were killed and 88 injured in the Zaporizhia region (south) still under Ukrainian control, one of the four territories seized by Moscow, according to Ukrainian police. In turn, a pro-Russian official blamed Ukrainian forces.

AFP journalists saw about fifteen cars with windows blown out and at least three dead women on the ground. People are waiting here for permission to return to Russian-controlled territories.