Russia’s anticipated annexation of four occupied regions of Ukraine represents what would be a “dangerous escalation” in the war, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday.
His comments came shortly after the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin would sign agreements on Friday to annex the occupied regions of the self-declared Donetsk Republic and Luhansk Republic, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. The annexations come on the heels of forged referendum votes that are near-universally seen as illegitimate.
“Any decision to proceed with the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned,” Guterres told reporters. “Any decision by Russia to go forward will further jeopardize the prospects for peace.”
“It will prolong the dramatic impacts on the global economy, especially in developing countries, and hinder our ability to deliver life-saving aid across Ukraine and beyond,” he added.
PENTAGON CONFIRMS RUSSIA’S USE OF IRANIAN DRONES IN UKRAINE
Each of the referendums supposedly revealed an overwhelming desire to join the Russian Federation, but the White House, among other Western leaders, came out strongly against the validity of the results, which “were manufactured and manipulated,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during Wednesday’s briefing. “Ukrainian civilians were forced to cast ballots under the watch of armed guards.”
Jean-Pierre said last week that the Biden administration is “prepared to impose additional swift and severe economic costs on Russia along with our allies and partners” if it goes ahead and annexes the territory, though she did not elaborate, and she has also said the United States would “never” recognize that territory as Russian.
Putin announced the call-up of roughly 300,000 reservists last week, which the West has characterized as a sign that lack of manpower continues to pose a challenge. The decision from the Russian leader led to somewhat of an exodus in which plane tickets to nearby countries sold quickly and images of long lines of cars were visible at border crossings. Roughly 2,400 civilians have been arrested protesting, according to OVD-Info, an independent watchdog that monitors police activity in Russia.
“I think the first portions of the mobilized members of Russian society have, in fact, made it into Ukraine in small numbers,” a senior U.S. military official told reporters on Wednesday, adding, “just the mechanics of outfitting that size of a force is very difficult.” The official also explained that they don’t have “a sense on the numbers that have entered into Ukraine” or where the new troops are heading.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
As all of this is unfolding in Ukraine, an unknown actor sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines through explosions that resulted in leaks from the two underwater natural gas pipelines.
“All currently available information indicates that this is the result of deliberate, reckless, and irresponsible acts of sabotage. These leaks are causing risks to shipping and substantial environmental damage. We support the investigations underway to determine the origin of the damage,” NATO said in a statement on Thursday. “Any deliberate attack against Allies’ critical infrastructure would be met with a united and determined response.”
In September, Gazprom announced that it would indefinitely suspend all natural gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1 to Europe and that the second is not operational.
