Russian President Vladimir Putin. Figure: Retrieved from Russian President Putin’s Twitter (file photo)
It has been six months since Russia invaded Ukraine. Recently, it was reported that Russia intends to annex several areas occupied by Ukraine. Western leaders warned Russia today not to forcibly annex more Ukrainian territory. Western leaders spoke via video at the Crimea Platform summit in Kyiv, which was attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish President Andrzej Duda in person.
Duda said bluntly that the West’s silent reaction to the annexation of Crimea constituted “appeasement” to Russia and that relations between the West and Moscow are no longer “business as usual”. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the summit that Russia has used Crimea since February as a depot for attacks on Ukraine, and that “Russia is now in other occupied Ukraine”. A testing ground for cruelty in the region”.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the annexation of Crimea had led to “a marked deterioration of the humanitarian situation and human rights on the peninsula”. He vowed that the European Union (EU) would support Ukraine “for a long time.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Western leaders “condemned Russia’s attempt to forcibly annex parts of Ukraine. Any fake referendum or other attempts to change the state of parts of Ukraine will never be recognized.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin “is planning to do to parts of Ukraine what he did to Crimea; actually the whole of Ukraine.” Johnson stressed: “He intends to More annexations, more fake referendums, so solidarity has never been more important.”