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On September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in the St. George's Hall of the Kremlin at the ceremony of "accession" to the Russian Federation of the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions after pseudo-referendums were held there.

He called on "Kyiv to sit down at the negotiating table". At the same ceremony, the leaders of the self-proclaimed L/DPR Denis Pushylin, Leonid Pasichnyk, as well as collaborators Yevhen Balytskyi and Volodymyr Saldo signed documents on the "accession" of the regions to the Russian Federation.

Putin also called the restrictions imposed on Russians by Western countries because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine "Russophobia" and "racism."

During the speech, the President of the Russian Federation returned to "history", noting that the "West" had "drugged entire nations for the sake of land and resources." Then he emphasized that the US used nuclear weapons twice, recalling Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Putin also tried to bring in "biological weapons from the West, and experiments on people that were also carried out on the territory of Ukraine".

According to the President of the Russian Federation, the West is waging a "hybrid war" against Russia, not the other way around, and Russia will be able to "protect its values". He also stated that "Russophobia" is "racism" and that the West has long "treated Russia like a colony". And Russia, according to Putin, wants to "restore historical unity" in order to "protect descendants from enslavement and terrible experiments".

Putler accused the "West" of having "trampled the principle of inviolability of borders and now decides at its own discretion who has the right to self-determination".

"Why do they decide like this? Who gave them such a right? That is why they are wildly angry about the choice of people in Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson", - the Russian president said.

The so-called signing ceremony was attended by high-ranking Russian officials, including Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. At the same time, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church was unable to attend the event due to a positive test for the coronavirus.

What is known?

Pseudo-referendums on joining the Russian Federation began on September 23 in the temporarily occupied territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. The occupation authorities offered Ukrainians to vote at home, on the street, at newly created polling stations. Together with the so-called members of the election commissions, armed soldiers came to the locals.

Reaction of the international community

The EU has warned that under no circumstances will they recognize the results of the "referendums" that the Russian Federation is trying to organize in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, and all those involved in them will be held accountable.

"27 leaders condemn the illegal annexation. We do not and will never recognize a fake referendum. We will never recognize illegal annexation", - wrote the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, on Twitter.

Ursula von der Leyen wrote that: "Putin's declared annexation will not change anything. All territories that are under the illegal occupation of the Russian Federation are part of Ukraine".

In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavsky, spoke with the same opinion and emphasized that "they will support the creation of an international tribunal for representatives of Russia".

The European Commission and Aja Lyabib, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, expressed a related opinion that: "Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Crimea are Ukraine".

Ukraine's entry into NATO

In response to Putler's unprecedented actions, Ukraine signed an application to join NATO in an accelerated manner. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on September 30 following the results of the meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.

"De facto, we have already made our way to NATO. De facto, we have already proven compatibility with the alliance's standards. They are real for Ukraine - real on the battlefield and in all aspects of our interaction. We trust each other, we help each other, and we protect each other. This is what the alliance is", - he said.

According to him, Ukraine is applying today to do this de jure under a procedure that will be consistent with our importance to protect the entire community.

"We are taking our decisive step by signing Ukraine's application for accelerated accession to NATO", - the president emphasized.

Also, during the meeting of the National Security Council, the issue of ensuring the collective security of Ukraine and the Euro-Atlantic space was considered.

Among other things, measures were discussed for:

• strengthening and expansion of the international coalition in support of Ukraine;

• increase in military and technical assistance to our state;

• increased sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation;

• implementation of proposals to guarantee security in the international arena;

• activation of the strategy of nuclear deterrence of the Russian Federation by the countries of the Euro-Atlantic space;

• counteracting hybrid threats caused by the aggressor country.