Russia has formally annexed four occupied regions of Ukraine, in a move sparking international condemnation.
President Vladimir Putin signed “accession treaties” with the regions’ Moscow-installed leaders at a ceremony in the Kremlin’s opulent St George’s Hall on Friday.
Watched by members of the political elite, he declared the regions would “forever” be part of Russia.
Kyiv reacted by launching a new, fast-track bid to join the Nato alliance.
Flanked by his prime minister and the speaker of parliament, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had long been a “de-facto” member of the security bloc, and accused Moscow of redrawing borders “using murder, blackmail, mistreatment and lies”.
“We are taking our decisive step by signing Ukraine’s application for accelerated accession to Nato,” Mr Zelensky said, speaking from the centre of Kyiv.
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was reluctant to be drawn on the bid, saying the decision rested with the bloc’s 30 members. But he condemned Moscow’s annexation of Ukrainian territory, calling the move “the most serious escalation since the start of the war”.
US President Joe Biden also accused Mr Putin of a “fraudulent attempt” to claim Ukrainian territory, and said the move was “trampling on the United Nations Charter, and showing its contempt for peaceful nations everywhere”.
“The illegal annexation proclaimed by Putin won’t change anything,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “All territories illegally occupied by Russian invaders are Ukrainian land and will always be part of this sovereign nation.”
And French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to “stand by Ukraine in order to deal with Russian aggression and to enable Ukraine to recover its full sovereignty across its entire territory”.