Russian thug and war criminal Vladimir Putin signed papers which he claims makes the four Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in the east, and in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south part of Russia. The illegal act follows the sham "referendum" held in those regions that saw armed military going door to door with election workers to force the collection of ballots, resulting in a Soviet-style outcome.
Reminiscent of Adolf Hitler's taking of Austria, the Czech Sudetenland and other countries' lands by force in the 1930s, Putin's land grab is triggering further sanctions and penalties against his regime and his allies (ed.: enough with these incremental sanctions ffs). Congress also added $12 billion more in military aid to Ukraine, on top of the billions already provided. As noted in the tweets below, in response to Russia's criminal annexation, Ukraine is applying for expedited NATO membership, which will be a tough sell to those in the alliance who are weak in the knees already.
(photo: Putin, center, surrounded by four Ukrainian Quislings at today's event. Getty Images)
