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A Ukrainian tank on the way to Siversk in the Donetsk region Inna Varenytsia/AP

Nine European heads say they 'will never recognise' annexed parts of Ukraine as Russian

Russia’s loss of Lyman is a new blow to the Kremlin as it seeks to escalate the war by illegally annexing four regions of Ukraine.

LAST UPDATE | 2 Oct 2022

THE PRESIDENTS OF nine NATO countries in central and eastern Europe have declared that they will never recognise the annexation by Russia of Ukrainian territory.

Their reaction comes two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties to annex four Moscow-occupied regions of Ukraine – Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia – following “referendums” the West has dismissed as “sham”.

The statement was issued by the presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

The presidents of those countries issued a joint statement saying they could not “stay silent in the face of the blatant violation of international law by the Russian Federation”.

“We reiterate our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” they said.

“We do not recognise and will never recognise Russian attempts to annex any Ukrainian territory.”

Four of the signatories – Poland, and the three Baltic states – are on NATO’s eastern flank with Russia.

Two others – Romania and Slovakia – have borders with Ukraine.

Hungary, which also borders Ukraine, was notably absent from the list. Its nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, has sought close ties with Putin in recent years and railed against European Union sanctions on the Kremlin.

Also absent were Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia.

The statement, published on the website of the Polish president’s office, said the leaders of the signatory countries had “visited Kyiv during the war and witnessed with their own eyes the effects of Russian aggression”.

“We support Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s invasion, demand Russia to immediately withdraw from all the occupied territories and encourage all (NATO) Allies to substantially increase their military aid to Ukraine,” it said.

“All those who commit crimes of aggression must be held accountable and brought to justice.”

The presidents said they stood by a decision NATO made 14 years ago, supporting Ukraine’s wish to join the trans-Atlantic military alliance at a future date.

They did not comment on Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014, or on Ukraine’s request last Friday for fast-track NATO membership following Russia’s annexation manoeuvre.

NATO members have hesitated at accepting a country at war – which, by treaty, would oblige the alliance to come to its defence.

NATO’s Article 5 says an attack on one member is tantamount to attack on all.

Lyman
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier today that Lyman, a key town located in one of the four Ukrainian regions that Russia annexed, was “cleared” of Moscow’s troops.

The recapture of Lyman – which Moscow’s forces pummelled for weeks to control this spring – marks the first Ukrainian military victory in territory that the Kremlin has claimed as its own and has vowed to defend by all possible means.

“As of 12:30 pm (09:30 GMT) Lyman is completely cleared. Thank you to our military!” Zelenskyy said in a video posted on social media.

Ukraine’s army said it had entered Lyman yesterday, prompting Moscow to announce the “withdrawal” of its troops from the town towards “more favourable lines”.

In a video address late on Saturday, Zelenskyy pledged to retake more areas in the country’s eastern Donbas region within the week.

Annexation approved by Russian courts

With Russian losses mounting, experts have warned that Putin could turn to nuclear weapons to defend territory – an option floated by a Putin ally.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said that Russia should consider using “low-yield nuclear weapons” after Moscow’s troops were forced out of Lyman.

Despite condemnation from the West, Russia’s Constitutional Court has recognised as lawful the annexation accords signed by Putin with the Moscow-backed leaders of the four Ukrainian territories.

The annexation treaties will be considered by Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, on Monday, according to Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.

The four territories create a crucial land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, also annexed by Moscow, in 2014.

Together the five regions make up around 20 percent of Ukraine.

© AFP 2022

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    Mute Meatball Martin
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:11 PM

    That’s great lol

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    Mute Marvin Dollery
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:07 PM

    That thing is a monster. Fair play!

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    Mute FlipBip
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:31 PM

    Good job lads!

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    Mute Gaelactico
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:21 PM

    What’s with the “23ft”? Are we going all Brexit? I remember getting thumped at school about 50 years ago for using inches instead of centimetres.

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    Mute brendan hackett
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:29 PM

    @Gaelactico: That’s bull.

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    Mute James Whelan
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    Jan 8th 2025, 4:06 PM

    @Gaelactico: I still use feet and inches. And miles. The only metric units I use are Celsius and millimeters for camera lenses.

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    Mute Billy Joe
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    Jan 8th 2025, 6:08 AM

    Get these lads to build all future bike sheds, bus stops, security barriers etc. Don’t waste this budding talent.

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    Mute Joe Willis
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    Jan 8th 2025, 4:47 PM

    @Billy Joe: lad wait til they get the smell of money and they will be putting in a 400 grand price to do the bike shed… and they would get awarded the contract too.

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    Mute Vinny Shaughnessy
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:51 PM

    Elton John was there for the taking

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    Mute Aurelio
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    Jan 7th 2025, 8:08 PM

    @Vinny Shaughnessy: Melting John perhaps ?

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    Mute William McSweeney
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:56 PM

    Servatius, you’re correcting all of my homework assignments for the next week.

    Regards,
    ‘Bill’

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    Mute Servatius Antonius
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    Jan 7th 2025, 7:12 PM

    @William McSweeney: But I built you the biggest snowman in Ireland

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    Mute Pork Hunt
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    Jan 7th 2025, 11:58 PM

    @Servatius Antonius: family of 12 of these ffs

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    Mute William McSweeney
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    Jan 8th 2025, 4:00 PM

    @Pork Hunt: awww poor you.

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    Mute Billy Joe
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    Jan 8th 2025, 6:13 AM

    They put the carrot in the wrong place

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    Mute Billy Joe
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    Jan 8th 2025, 5:58 AM

    Ya can’t beat a university education.

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    Mute Dave Grant
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:53 PM

    Can someone fact check if it was indeed classed as a “Snow Storm”

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    Mute Ajax Penumbra
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    Jan 7th 2025, 6:01 PM

    @Dave Grant: Do it yourself.

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    Mute Mary Breezer
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    Jan 8th 2025, 12:28 PM

    Well done lads Remember some years ago the smallest snow man was in Mayo

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    Mute Anthony Griffin
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    Jan 10th 2025, 4:20 PM

    ___

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