Russian President Putin, who continues his military invasion of Ukraine, is poised to unilaterally annex four states in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine on the night of the 30th Japan time.
In response, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, ``Any decision for annexation has no legal value and deserves condemnation.''
On the 29th, President Putin signed a presidential decree unilaterally recognizing Zaporizhia and Kherson provinces in the southeastern part of Ukraine as independent states.
In February this year, Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in eastern Ukraine were also unilaterally recognized as ``independent states,'' and President Putin announced that he will be at the Moscow Kremlin at 3:00 pm on the 30th and at 9:00 pm on the 30th Japan time. It is expected to hold a ceremony in Ukraine, sign a document annexing four states of Ukraine, and announce the annexation in a speech.
By unilaterally annexing Russia and claiming it as Russian territory, President Putin seems to want to check Ukraine and the West, which provides military support, and to increase the patriotism of the people.
In response to these moves, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held a hasty press conference at the UN headquarters in New York on the 29th, pointing out that the annexation of another country's territory by force violates the UN Charter and international law. Did.
"Any decision to annex has no legal value and is condemnable," he said.
U.S. President Biden also criticized the U.S., saying, "The U.S. will never accept the claim that Ukraine's territory belongs to Russia."
The United States and the EU = European Union have been increasingly criticized by the international community, such as announcing policies to impose additional economic sanctions.
On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message on the 29th that "Russia will not acquire new Ukrainian territories." He announced that he would hold a security and defense conference to discuss countermeasures.