With Ukraine vowing to take back all occupied territory and Russia pledging to defend its gains, threatening nuclear\u002Dweapon use, the two nations are on an…
The comment Friday by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came just after Russia said it would annex four region of Ukraine it seized amid its war and held gunpoint referendums viewed as illegitimate by the international community.Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
In a Kremlin ceremony at the ornate St. George’s Hall to herald the annexation of the occupied parts of Ukraine, Putin accused the West of fueling the hostilities as part of what he said is a plan to turn Russia into a “colony” and a “crowds of slaves.” The hardening of his position, in the conflict that that has killed and wounded tens of thousands of people, further cranked up tensions, already at levels unseen since the Cold War.
Putin portrayed his invasion as part of a historical mission to reclaim Russia’s great power status and counter Western domination that he said is collapsing. Putin and his lieutenants have bluntly warned Ukraine against pressing an offensive to reclaim the regions, saying Russia would view it as an act of aggression — threats that Moscow can back up with the world’s largest arsenal of nuclear warheads.
Retaking it could open the path for Ukraine to push deep into Luhansk, one of the regions Russia is absorbing. They followed analysts’ warnings that Putin was likely to dip more heavily into his dwindling stocks of precision weapons and step up attacks as part of a strategy to escalate the war to an extent that would shatter Western support for Ukraine.
Russian-installed officials in Zaporizhzhia blamed Ukrainian forces for the strike, but provided no evidence.Article content