Putin declares four Ukraine areas part of Russia

Russian president Vladimir Putin today declared four occupied areas of Ukraine as Russian territory following hastily arranged referendums in the regions on 23-27 September.

The territory being seized is Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk and Luhansk. Earlier this week Russian-backed officials declared that large majorities in all four areas had voted in favour of joining Russia.

In a speech at the Kremlin ahead of an official signing ceremony on the annexation, Putin said the choice to join Russia is "their inalienable right, enshrined in the UN charter", adding that people in the four regions "today become citizens of Russia forever".

Putin went on to call for Ukraine to stop fighting. "We call on the Kiev regime to immediately ceasefire all hostilities, the war it unleashed back in 2014, and return to the negotiating table," he said, referring to Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014, which also followed a widely discredited referendum.

The borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk territories will be recognised according to guidance laid out in 2014, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. But the borders of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhya areas have yet to be clarified.

Putin said Russia is ready for negotiations with Ukraine but is not prepared to discuss the results of the referendums. "They have voted for it. Russia will not betray their choice. People are coming back to their true Fatherland," he said.

The annexation decree will be reviewed by the Russian parliament, the Federal Assembly, on 3-4 October. Putin said he is confident lawmakers will approve it.

The EU has issued a swift response to Putin's speech, saying it will "never recognise this illegal annexation" and that "these decisions are null and void and cannot produce any legal effect whatsoever". In the statement, the bloc reiterated that it will continue to provide economic, military, social and financial support to Ukraine "for as long as it takes" and that it will strengthen sanctions to counter "Russia's illegal actions".

By Ruxandra Iordache