Municipal workers hoist a Russian flag on a power pole in the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol, Ukraine (file photo).
The United States has warned that Russia plans to annex more of its occupied territories in the country, such as Crimea in Ukraine.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters:
Russia invaded Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014 and later annexed the region. Russia justified the action by citing self-imposed guidelines.
Russia, which is still invading Ukraine, says it will not annex parts of that country
But don’t take Russian President Vladimir Putin’s words for granted. We have intelligence that President Putin is now dusting off the same guidelines he used to annex Crimea in 2014.
Russia is planning to annex the parts of Ukraine under its control by holding fake referendums and claiming that the majority of them have expressed their desire to join them.
For that, Russia has already installed its puppets as rulers in the occupied territories, he said.
In 2014, Western supporters engaged in intense protests against President Viktor Yanukovych, who ruled Ukraine. After that, his regime was overthrown.
In the aftermath, pro-Russian rebels fought against government forces in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region and seized large swaths of territory. Russia then invaded Ukraine’s Crimea region and annexed the peninsula.
Prior to that, a referendum was held to ask the public about joining Russia. It was ignored by Ukrainian supporters from the area. However, the majority of voters in the referendum expressed a preference for alliance with Russia.
Based on that, Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula. However, the United States and the West rejected the annexation of Crimea, calling the referendum a sham.
In this context, Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 last year to protest Ukraine’s accession to NATO.
As part of that, Russian forces have been advancing alongside rebels to capture areas of the Donbass region still held by government forces. In addition, Russian forces have also seized areas in between to establish a land link between the Crimean peninsula and the Donbass region.
In this context, the United States has warned that Russia is planning to annex the currently occupied parts of Ukraine, like Crimea.
‘Gas supply will further decrease’
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that a tap installed between the gas pipeline to European countries is broken and if it is not replaced, the gas supply will be cut in half. This is said to be a further setback for European countries, which are already struggling economically due to low gas supply.