EU leaders condemn illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory

The leaders of the European Union reacted to the speech of russian President Vladimir Putin, who announced the illegal annexation of four regions of Ukraine: Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Luhansk, and Donetsk.

While the speech was still in progress, EU leaders began to comment on it on social networks.

Thus, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on Twitter that the illegal annexation proclaimed by Putin will not change anything.

27 leaders condemn the illegal annexation. We do not and will never recognise the sham 'referenda'. We will never recognise this illegal annexation - the President of the European Council Charles Michel wrote.

High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, in his turn, stressed that the announcement of the annexation of Ukrainian territories by russia is a major violation of international law and the UN Charter.

"No sham referendum can justify this," he wrote on Twitter.

Today Putin announced the illegal annexation of four regions of Ukraine: Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk. None of them is fully controlled by the enemy army. The Kremlin believes that this will make them "subjects of the russian federation".