Putin Signs Document to Annex Four Ukrainian Provinces

Russian President Vladimir Putin today signed the document to formally annex four Ukrainian provinces occupied by Moscow’s troops.

Putin said the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson are now part of Russia, during a televised ceremony in the Kremlin.

Russian occupation authorities staged referendums in the four areas in the past week which they said showed an overwhelming majority in favour of leaving Ukraine and joining Russia.

Ukraine and Western powers have dismissed the vote, saying the results were a foregone conclusion that would never be recognized internationally. Meanwhile the

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says Russian annexation of Ukraine regions would mark dangerous escalation.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres while speaking with reporters at the UN headquarters in New York City warned that annexing Ukraine regions would mark a dangerous escalation in the war in Ukraine which would jeopardise the prospects for peace.