The European Union (EU) has summoned Russian ambassadors to member states in a “coordinated manner” following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision last week to annex Ukrainian regions, an EU spokesman told CNN on Monday (3).
“In response to Russia’s latest steps further escalating its aggression against Ukraine – with false referendums and illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories – the EU has in a coordinated manner summoned Russian ambassadors to EU member states and EU institutions.”
Peter Stano, EU spokesman for foreign affairs and security policy, told CNN.
Stano said the measure aims to “convey strong condemnation of these actions” and demand the “immediate halt of measures that undermine Ukraine’s territorial integrity and violate the UN Charter and international law”.
The summons began on Friday (30) of last week, according to Stano. The Russian ambassador to the EU was summoned to Brussels on Monday afternoon (2), he added.
Annexation of Ukrainian territory
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed this Friday (30) the annexation of four regions of Ukrainian territory to Russia. The movement intensifies the war that has been going on for seven months and starts a new, unpredictable phase of the confrontation.
Moscow declares that the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, largely or partially occupied by Russian forces or supported by Russia, are part of Russia. The annexation means a loss of about 15% of Ukrainian territory.
The “votes” for referendums on membership of Russia held in the four occupied areas are contrary to international law and have been universally rejected as “a hoax” by Ukraine and Western nations, including US President Joe Biden.
The counts cited in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia ranged from 87.05% approval to claims of near-universal verdicts, but these figures are in stark contrast to reality. According to a survey by CNN with Ukrainians in February, just before Russia’s invasion, no region of the country had more than one in five people supporting Ukrainian unification with Russia.
Reports from affected regions suggested that votes were collected at civilians’ doors by the authorities, followed by armed guards.
Despite the rejection of the referendum by the global community and, consequently, international law, there are concerns that Putin will use the claim of occupied Ukrainian support for Russia as a pretext to escalate the war.
(With information from Anna Chernova of CNN )
Source: CNN Brasil
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