President Vladimir Putin asserted Friday that Russia would annex four Ukrainian regions and decried the United States for ¡°satanism,¡± in a speech that marked an escalation in Moscow¡¯s war against Ukraine. In starkly confrontational terms, he positioned Russia as fighting an existential battle with Western elites he deemed ¡°the enemy.¡±
Speaking to hundreds of Russian lawmakers and governors in a grand Kremlin hall, Putin said that the residents of the four regions ¡ª which are still partially controlled by Ukrainian forces ¡ª would become Russia¡¯s citizens ¡°forever.¡± He then held a signing ceremony with the Russian-installed heads of those regions to start the official annexation process, before clasping hands with them and chanting, ¡°Russia! Russia!¡±
The Biden administration quickly condemned the annexations, saying they ¡°have no legitimacy,¡± and enacted a round of new sanctions on Russia¡¯s defense and technology industries as punishment for Moscow¡¯s actions.
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