Russian President Vladimir Putin will annex portions of eastern and southern Ukraine on Friday. He claimed that Russia’s claim to the occupied areas was supported by forced referenda.
Politico reports that Western leaders are looking for a way to respond to Putin’s “land grab”. This has raised questions about Russia’s commitment to long-term conflict with Ukraine. There are fears that the West might not be able to resolve the conflict as effectively and quickly as European and North American leaders hoped.
Russian state media reported Tuesday that Ukraine’s Luhansk, Donetsk, and Kherson regions overwhelmingly voted for Russia and to leave Ukraine. The referendum was held between September 23rd and 27, with striking results in each region: Russia won 98%, 99%, Luhansk 98% and 87% respectively, while Zaporizhzhia saw 93%.
According to The New York Times Putin said that the “formation of a more just international organization” was taking place during a television interview. This included an expected annexation in which a region of approximately 40,000 sq. Putin did not address the issue of miles.
He said that the unipolar hegemony was “inexorably falling apart.” “This objective reality is something the West refuses categorically to accept. ”
The U.S. and Putin condemned the results of the referendum.
“The Kremlin’s fake referenda were futile attempts to conceal what amounts to an attempt to seize land from Ukraine. U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken said that the results were orchestrated and not representative of the will of the people.
He stated that the United States didn’t recognize or would not recognize the legitimacy of these sham referenda. This is a violation of international security and principles.
In the U.S. Senate, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced legislation Thursday to block U.S. aid from going to regions “annexed” by Russia.
Politico reports that Graham said, “We are dealing with Hurricane Putin.” “He’s trying to rewrite Europe’s map.”
Blumenthal stated, “It is a land grab. It’s a steal. We don’t want any of it.
Wednesday’s US contribution to Ukraine’s war efforts was $1.1 billion. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, this brings the total U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to $16.2 billion since February’s Russian invasion.
According to national security experts, the total security assistance committed has exceeded $40 billion since August 2013. This disparity is due in part to confusion about how funds are pooled as well as the inability to track them.
“There is a range of funding sources, including Presidential Drawdown Authority, Foreign Military Financing, and the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative,” Ari Tolany, U.S. program manager at the Center for Civilians in Conflict, told The Intercept earlier this month. “It’s been tricky to trace what material is coming from where.”
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