Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday presided over a ceremony at the Kremlin to announce the annexation of four Ukrainian regions partly occupied by his forces. He signed treaties to annex Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia at a grand ceremony.
He then joined hands with the Moscow-installed heads of the regions on a stage in front of the Russian elite and chanted alongside them "Russia! Russia!"
Putin annexed the regions despite warnings from the West and the fact that Moscow's forces do not control the entirety of the regions. The longtime Russian leader said the people of the regions had made a "univocal choice" to join Russia after so-called referendums that Moscow organized. "I want to say this to the Kyiv regime and its masters in the West: People living in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia (regions) are becoming our citizens forever," he said.
The West and international organizations did not recognize the voting, which was organized after Russia seized the territories by force. In a speech before signing the treaties, Putin demanded that Kyiv stop all military action.
"We call on the Kyiv regime to immediately stop fighting and stop all hostilities... and return to the negotiating table."
Putin, who turns 70 next week, sent troops to Ukraine in February. Last week, he announced a mobilization to prop up Russian forces fighting in Ukraine who have suffered heavy losses in recent months.
Leaders react against Putin's annexation
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the illegal annexation won't change anything.
"All territories illegally occupied by Russian invaders are Ukrainian land and will always be part of this sovereign nation," she said.
Italy's recently elected leader Giorgia Meloni said Putin "once again demonstrates his Soviet-style, neo-imperialist vision that threatens the security of the entire European continent."
The European Council also criticized Putin's move.
"We firmly reject and unequivocally condemn the illegal annexation by Russia of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
"By wilfully undermining the rules-based international order and blatantly violating the fundamental rights of Ukraine to independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, core principles as enshrined in the U.N. Charter and international law, Russia is putting global security at risk.
"We do not and will never recognize the illegal 'referenda' that Russia has engineered as a pretext for this further violation of Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, nor their falsified and illegal results. We will never recognize this illegal annexation."
Poland also condemned the signature of the treaties by Putin annexing the four Ukrainian regions, the foreign ministry said on Friday, as it called for an increase in military support for Kyiv and more sanctions.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns in the strongest terms the illegal acts of 'recognition of independence' and 'incorporation' into the Russian Federation of parts of Ukraine's regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia," the Polish ministry said in a statement.