US Will Never Recognise Russia's Annexation Of Ukrainian Territory: Biden

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday that Russian referendums aimed at annexing four occupied regions of Ukraine are a sham and said Washington "will never recognize Ukrainian territory as anything...

US President Joe Biden has said the US will "never, ever admit" Russia's attempt to annex territory in Ukraine.

He was speaking before Friday's speech from Vladimir Putin, who is due to announce that four occupied Ukrainian regions will join Russia.

The Luhansk, Donetsk Kremlin says,

Zaporizhzhya and Kherson supported the annexation in referendums that lasted five days.

The so-called vote has been widely condemned outside Russia as sham.

The United States will impose new sanctions on Russia as a result of the annexation.

“The United States, I want to be very clear about this, I will, never, ever,

"It never recognizes Russia's claims to Ukraine's sovereign territory," Biden said.

On Thursday, the Russian president signed two decrees recognizing Zaporizhia and Kherson as independent territories - paving the way for their annexation.

The documents, published by Russian state media, say that the independence of the two regions is recognized under international law and "enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations."

but,

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that any annexation of a country's territory based on the use of force violates the UN Charter and international law. It was a "dangerous escalation" that "has no place in the modern world," he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will decide how to respond at an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council on Friday. Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said that "important and fundamental decisions for our country" will be made, but did not give details.

None of the four occupied territories that Russia aims to incorporate are under its full control.

It can only claim 60% of Donetsk while the regional capital, Zaporozhye, is still in Ukrainian hands.

As the Ukrainians rushed to expel their relatives from the occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhya region,

The missiles hit a convoy of civilian cars on the outskirts of the main city. The Ukrainian governor said 23 civilians were killed and 28 wounded in the Russian attack.

Two rows of cars were injured and the bodies of two women were seen on the ground.

There are active front lines in all four regions and Ukrainian forces are said to have encircled a strategically important town in Donetsk which they lost over the summer. If Lehmann fell, it would be a dramatic setback for the Russian leader.

In a phone call with Mr. Putin,

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed his opposition to the planned annexation process.

The Russian president called for de-escalation of tension and giving another chance to peace negotiations with Ukraine, according to his spokesman.

Turkey, along with the United Nations, has brokered negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in the past -

Successfully reaching an agreement to resume grain exports across the Black Sea.

BY
ProBuzzFeed