The Kremlin confirms that the use of “nuclear” is in accordance with a military doctrine and not motivated by emotions

The Russian parliament ratifies the law on the annexation of the 4 Ukrainian regions

Duma members voted unanimously in favor of annexation and no objection or abstention was registered.

Reuters

Russian lawmakers yesterday unanimously approved a law on the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, after it was approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and sparked international condemnation, while the Kremlin said that the use of nuclear weapons would only be in accordance with the terms of the nuclear doctrine, and that it preferred a "balanced approach" and not motivated by emotions. On the issue of its use of nuclear weapons.

All members of the Duma (the lower house) voted to annex the Donetsk and Lugansk regions (east) and Kherson and Zaporizhia regions (south), according to the live broadcast of the voting session on Russian television.

No objection or abstention was registered.

On Friday, Putin signed a treaty to annex four Ukrainian regions, partly or fully controlled by Russian forces, namely Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, during a grand ceremony held in the Kremlin.

Minutes before the parliament's vote, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addressed the deputies, asking them to vote on the law that protects - according to him - Russian culture, language and borders.

"We do not respond to imaginary threats, we protect our borders, our homeland and our people," he said.

Lavrov accused the United States of rallying all Western countries to support Kyiv against Moscow.

"The United States has subjugated almost all of the West, mobilizing it to turn Ukraine into an instrument of war against Russia," he added.

Yesterday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Russia would "consult" the residents of Kherson and Zaporizhia in southern Ukraine about the demarcation of the borders of these two annexed regions by Moscow.

"We will continue to consult with the residents of these regions," Peskov told reporters, when asked whether Russia would annex these regions completely or only the parts under its control.

Peskov said that the use of nuclear weapons would only be in accordance with the terms of the nuclear doctrine

In response to a journalist's question about the statements of the leader of the Chechen region, Ramzan Kadyrov, regarding the use of nuclear weapons in the special operation in Ukraine, Peskov said, "All the reasons that lead to the use of such weapons are stipulated in the terms of the doctrine nuclear power, and there can be no other considerations for its use.”

Peskov said that Kadyrov had a right to his opinion, but that Russia's military approach should not be motivated by emotions.

"But even in difficult moments, emotions should be kept away from any kind of evaluation, so we prefer to stick to balanced and objective evaluations," he added.

The Kremlin explained that this nuclear protection extends to the four regions of Ukraine, which Moscow announced its annexation.

The Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, said that Russia continues to collect facts related to the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, hinting that some indirect data indicate the presence of traces of the West's involvement.

This comes at a time when the Ukrainian forces continued to achieve successes in the framework of their counter-attack, with their advance on the Russians in the east and south of the country.

A military spokesman for the Moscow-backed separatists of Luhansk region said via the Telegram news service yesterday that Ukrainian soldiers have already settled near the city of Lyschansk in the region, but Ukrainian units are nevertheless under constant fire from the Russian army.

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