KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — In an effort to escalate the seven-month conflict, Russia intended to take additional territory from Ukraine on Friday. This move was certain to further isolate the Kremlin, bring more sanctions against it, and increase the military, political, and economic support for Ukraine..
The annexation would occur only a few days after ostensibly voter-approved "referendums" orchestrated by Moscow, which Ukrainian and Western authorities have criticized as unlawful, coerced, and manipulated.
During a ceremony at the Kremlin, where President Vladimir Putin is due to deliver a significant speech, four Ukrainian areas — Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia — will be merged with Russia, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. In the lavish St. George's Hall in the Kremlin, pro-Moscow leaders of the regions will sign treaties to become part of Russia, according to Peskov.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy convened an emergency meeting of his National Security and Defense Council on Friday in what appears to be retaliation.
As the Kremlin follows the same annexation strategy it did when it annexed the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine in 2014, the United States and its allies have vowed to impose sanctions against Russia that are even tougher than those already in place and to provide Ukraine with millions of dollars in additional support.
Ukraine reiterated its commitment to retake the four areas including Crimea. Russia promises to defend all of its territory, including recently seized areas, using all tools at its disposal, including nuclear weapons.
The partial military mobilization of Russia and accusations of sabotage against two Russian pipelines on the Baltic Sea seabed that were meant to supply natural gas to Europe are escalating tensions. The fact that Ukraine is making progress in regaining some of the territory Russia is annexing only makes matters worse for the Kremlin.
Supporters of Ukraine in the West have referred to the staged referendums on whether to submit to Russian administration as a blatant land grab based on fabrications. They claim that on a territory from which thousands of residents have fled or been forcibly deported, some people were made to vote under threat of violence in an election without impartial observers.
Czech Republic Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, whose nation is in charge of the EU presidency, declared that it was "completely unacceptable." "We oppose such a lopsided annexation based on a totally invalid procedure."
Lipavsky asserted that the territories remain "Ukrainian territory" and called the pro-Russian referendums "theater plays."
At a meeting in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock declared that Russia's actions were "the reverse of peace."
It has mandated peace. No civilian is secure as long as this Russian diktat is in place in the Ukrainian territory that are under occupation. No one is free, he declared.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, citing Russian reports, said that Lyman, a city 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, may soon be completely encircled by Ukrainian forces. This would be a significant setback to Moscow's war effort.
According to the institute, the Russian grouping in the northern Donetsk and western Luhansk areas would likely suffer greatly from the collapse of the Lyman pocket, which "may allow Ukrainian soldiers to threaten Russian positions in the western Luhansk" region.
At least eight people, including a toddler, were murdered by Russian shelling in the last day, according to Ukrainian officials, who also reported scores of other civilians being injured. Officials said that a 12-year-old child was rescued alive from the wreckage during the attack on Dnipro.
She was removed by the rescuers from beneath the debris. When the Russian missile struck, she was dozing off, according to the local administrator Valentyn Reznichenko.
According to Mayor Oleksandr Honcharenko, a Russian rocket bombardment on the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kramatorsk in eastern Donetsk left 11 people injured and caused property damage.
Another worry was increased violence near the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporizhzhia. The factory is under the control of Russian military, although Ukrainian specialists continue to work there.
Wild animals most likely set off the alleged land mine explosion on the power plant's surrounding fence on Thursday. According to Energoatom, the nuclear power organization for Ukraine, the explosion destroyed electrical wires.
Deeply unpopular in some regions, Russia's partial mobilization has led to riots and other forms of violence. Moscow has set up draft offices at its borders to stop some of the fleeing Russian males, who have reportedly created miles-long lineups as they attempt to exit the nation.
Russian military-age men are leaving the country in greater numbers than the amount of personnel Moscow first sent to invade Ukraine in February, according to British military intelligence.
The British said that people trying to flee Russia were disproportionately wealthy and educated. "The domestic economic impact of lower labor availability and the acceleration of the 'brain drain' is expected to become increasingly important," the study said.
Peskov asserted on Thursday that the Nord Stream pipeline catastrophes would not have been feasible in the absence of government cooperation over the sabotage that has affected Russian gas pipelines to Europe this week.
Peskov told reporters, "It appears to be a terrorist assault, presumably carried out on a state level." It's a very serious scenario that has to be investigated right now.
He labeled as "stupid and unfair" media claims that Russian vessels had been observed in the region and asserted that several additional NATO planes and ships "had been spotted" there.
European officials have underlined that when gas supplies to Europe are affected, Russia profits from increased gas prices.
