Ukraine Referendum

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that residents of Moscow-held regions in Ukraine expressed their desire to be part of Russia in recent local elections, reaffirming referendums last year that Western countries denounced as illegal.

North Korea supports Russia's proclaimed annexation of parts of Ukraine, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday, accusing the United States of applying "gangster-like double standards" in interfering in other country's affairs.

From the industrial heartland of Donbas to Crimea on the Black Sea, Russia has annexed all, or part, of five regions of Ukraine, after "referendums" rejected by the international community.

Russia on Friday vetoed a Western bid at the UN Security Council to condemn its annexations of Ukrainian territory, with China and India abstaining.

India has abstained on a draft resolution tabled in the UN Security Council which condemned Russia's "illegal referenda" and annexation of four Ukrainian territories and called for an immediate cessation of violence while underlining the need to find

The UN Security Council on Friday opened a session on Russia's annexations of Ukrainian territory, with Moscow certain to veto a US-backed resolution of condemnation.

The European Union said on Friday it firmly condemned the annexation by Russia of occupied Ukraine regions, adding it would never recognise "illegal" referendums held there and would tighten its sanctions to increase pressure on Moscow.

At a ceremony denounced by Ukraine as a "Kremlin freak show", Russian President Vladimir Putin will proclaim the annexation of four Ukrainian regions on Friday, escalating his seven-month war and taking it into an unpredictable new phase.

US President Joe Biden vowed Thursday to "never, never, never" recognize the results of Russian-led referendums in Ukraine, which he called a "flagrant violation" of international principles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed decrees paving the way for the occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to be formally annexed into Russia.

Ukraine said on Wednesday that Russian-staged votes in four Ukrainian regions on becoming part of Russia were "null and worthless", and that Kyiv would press on with efforts to liberate Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces.

Kremlin-installed authorities in four Ukrainian regions under Russian control claimed victory Tuesday in annexation votes, drawing global outrage, as Moscow warned it could use nuclear weapons to defend the territories.

Kyiv will not be able to negotiate with Russia after Moscow held annexation "referendums" in four occupied Ukrainian regions, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.

Officials in the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine on Tuesday claimed victory in a referendum for a merger with Russia amid international condemnation of a sham ballot.

An ally of President Vladimir Putin issued a stark new nuclear warning to Ukraine and the West on Tuesday as Russia began releasing results of referendums it bills as a prelude to it annexing four Ukrainian regions.

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that residents of Moscow-held regions in Ukraine expressed their desire to be part of Russia in recent local elections, reaffirming referendums last year that Western countries denounced as illegal.

North Korea supports Russia's proclaimed annexation of parts of Ukraine, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday, accusing the United States of applying "gangster-like double standards" in interfering in other country's affairs.

From the industrial heartland of Donbas to Crimea on the Black Sea, Russia has annexed all, or part, of five regions of Ukraine, after "referendums" rejected by the international community.

Russia on Friday vetoed a Western bid at the UN Security Council to condemn its annexations of Ukrainian territory, with China and India abstaining.

India has abstained on a draft resolution tabled in the UN Security Council which condemned Russia's "illegal referenda" and annexation of four Ukrainian territories and called for an immediate cessation of violence while underlining the need to find

The UN Security Council on Friday opened a session on Russia's annexations of Ukrainian territory, with Moscow certain to veto a US-backed resolution of condemnation.

The European Union said on Friday it firmly condemned the annexation by Russia of occupied Ukraine regions, adding it would never recognise "illegal" referendums held there and would tighten its sanctions to increase pressure on Moscow.

At a ceremony denounced by Ukraine as a "Kremlin freak show", Russian President Vladimir Putin will proclaim the annexation of four Ukrainian regions on Friday, escalating his seven-month war and taking it into an unpredictable new phase.

US President Joe Biden vowed Thursday to "never, never, never" recognize the results of Russian-led referendums in Ukraine, which he called a "flagrant violation" of international principles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed decrees paving the way for the occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to be formally annexed into Russia.

Ukraine said on Wednesday that Russian-staged votes in four Ukrainian regions on becoming part of Russia were "null and worthless", and that Kyiv would press on with efforts to liberate Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces.

Kremlin-installed authorities in four Ukrainian regions under Russian control claimed victory Tuesday in annexation votes, drawing global outrage, as Moscow warned it could use nuclear weapons to defend the territories.

Kyiv will not be able to negotiate with Russia after Moscow held annexation "referendums" in four occupied Ukrainian regions, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.

Officials in the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine on Tuesday claimed victory in a referendum for a merger with Russia amid international condemnation of a sham ballot.

An ally of President Vladimir Putin issued a stark new nuclear warning to Ukraine and the West on Tuesday as Russia began releasing results of referendums it bills as a prelude to it annexing four Ukrainian regions.