On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of the Ukrainian provinces of Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, and Zaprozia, to Russia, and a curfew has been imposed in these provinces. Russian armies are patrolling these provinces in armored vehicles. People are not allowed to leave their homes. All these 4 provinces make up 20% of the area of Ukraine. In Zaprozia, late at night on Thursday, 25 civilians were killed in a Russian attack.
On the other hand, on Friday, Ukrainian President Zelensky has appealed for Ukraine to be made a part of NATO, and the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg has said that Russia has committed a mistake. Meanwhile, USA’s President Joe Biden has said that Russia’s move is illegal and has announced new restrictions on Russian security, technology, and other sectors. And when Putin announced the annexation in Russia, the whole hall reverberated with the echoes of slogans cheering for Russia. Putin has categorically stated that Russia will not return the provinces to Ukraine.
In addition to all this happening, the European Union has announced stricter prohibitions on issuing short-stay visas for Russians.
