Putin’s annexation of Ukrainian regions changes ‘nothing’, Ukraine’s FM says

The Ukrainian foreign minister said that the annexation by Russia of four regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – where so-called referendums were held this week changed "nothing" for his country and the world. He said that Russia did not even control all of those areas, adding that Ukrainian forces were actually "progressing well" in the Donetsk region, in particular around the railway hub of Lyman. He added that the annexation meant that talking to Vladimir Putin now made no sense. 

Asked about the Russian claim that a missile strike this Friday in the region of Zaporizhzhia was carried out by Ukraine, Kuleba called this "a lie" and said there was "clear evidence" that Russia is responsible, calling it a mere continuation of its "terrorist tactics" in the whole country.

He urged the world not to be afraid of the threat by Russia to use tactical nuclear weapons, calling it an “act of desperation”.

For the first time since the onset of the war, Kuleba criticised the new EU sanctions package being discussed, saying it did not "correspond to the level of threat that Russia’s attempted annexation and continued aggression poses to Europe". He pointed to energy, banking and nuclear cooperation as sectors where harsher European sanctions should be implemented.

Kuleba regretted that Germany was unwilling to supply Ukraine with tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. "If we ask for tanks in order to protect Europe from Russia, then we should be given those tanks," he said.

He went on to express hope that more African countries who stayed neutral on the war in Ukraine were now coming to realise the impact of the conflict on food security, as well as the risk that the invasion of a sovereign state could in turn