Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday announced the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine following the outcome of the referendums, according to which a large majority of locals wanted to sever ties with Kyiv.
Four territories Ukraine considers to be its provinces have approved through referendums Moscow's initiative to join the Russian Federation, it was reported Tuesday in the Donbas region.
Ukrainian officials have pointed fingers at Uruguay for allegedly participating in a “collective crime” by supporting President Vladimir Putin's attempt to annex occupied regions.
Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo Monday told the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York that Russia's withdrawal from Ukraine was essential.
Residents in the eastern Ukrainian republics of Donetsk and Lugansk in the Donbas regions and in other parts of Russian-controlled territories began voting Friday in a referendum with which Moscow seeks to legitimize the military deployment in the area since February.
Over 1,000 Russian protesters have been arrested after they took to the streets in response to Vladimir Putin's announcement regarding a partial military mobilization involving some 300,000 reserve soldiers for the offensive in Ukraine.
Moscow and Kyiv carried out Wednesday an unexpected swap of prisoners of war (POWs) with 215 Russian and 55 Ukrainian prisoners released, it was reported.
A former top US State Department official Tuesday said Russia could use nuclear weapons in Ukraine after sustaining some heavy losses over the past day or two in its war with Ukraine.
The World Trade Organization warns that uncertainty has increased as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, growing global inflation, and the predicted tightening of monetary policy by central banks in advanced nations.
A Russian Iskander missile hit a military column at the Chaplino railway station in the Dnipropetrovsk region, killing over 200 Ukrainian troops bound for the Donbas region, according to Moscow sources, and destroying heavy military machinery, it was reported Thursday.