Zelensky declares Kyiv will request fast-track NATO membership
Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that Kyiv is requesting fast-track NATO membership after Russia formally annexed four Moscow-held regions of Ukraine earlier today.
‘De-facto, we have already proven our compatibility with Alliance standards… Today, Ukraine is applying to make it de jure,’ the Ukrainian president said in a video address posted on social media.
‘We are taking a decisive step by signing Ukraine’s application for accelerated accession to NATO… in an expedited manner.’
The statement came just hours after Vladimir Putin signed official papers to formally recognise the incorporation of four partially occupied Ukrainian regions into the Russian Federation.
At a grand ceremony in the Kremlin, the Russian president delivered a defiant speech in front of Moscow’s most senior political elite, telling the West the land grab was irreversible and calling on Ukraine’s emboldened army to give up and negotiate a surrender.
‘I want to say this to the Kyiv regime and its masters in the West: People living in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are becoming our citizens forever,’ Putin said.
‘We call on the Kyiv regime to immediately stop fighting and stop all hostilities… and return to the negotiating table,’ the Russian leader added.
The packed hall erupted to chants of ‘Russia! Russia’ after the four leaders inked the deal, and Putin – rarely seen making physical contact since the pandemic – joined hands with his proxy leaders and was shown shouting along in unison on state TV.
Volodymyr Zelensky today declared that Kyiv is requesting fast-track NATO membership after Russia formally annexed four Moscow-held regions of Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Moscow-appointed heads of four Ukrainian regions, partially occupied by Russia, at the Grand Kremlin Palace on September 30, 2022 to commemorate their annexation of the territories
Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and other participants attend a ceremony at the Kremlin to declare the annexation of the Russian-controlled territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in Ukraine