From the BZ editorial team
Ukraine will apply for NATO membership TODAY. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video speech.
The application is said to be for accelerated accession. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is scheduled to make an unscheduled statement at 6 p.m. German time.
Zelenskyj said on Telegram that his country had already “de facto” made its way towards NATO. “We trust each other, we help each other and we protect each other.” Ukraine now wants to join the alliance “de jure”.
Earlier on Friday, Kremlin despot Vladimir Putin celebrated the illegal annexation of the four Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Cherson and Zaporizhia. The entire warmongering clique was invited, including Putin’s bloodhound Ramzan Kadyrov.
The Russian’s speech? The usual confused reckoning with the West. The allegations ranged from “double standards” to “historical crimes”. The West lies “like Goebbels”, Germany is occupied by the USA.
When Putin was done, the expected applause erupted. Pictures, on the other hand, showed how much the Russian elite was bored during the words of the 69-year-old!
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has declared four occupied Ukrainian territories as Russian territory Photo: picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Gavriil Grigorov
While in the evening the “reunification” – according to Russian propaganda – is celebrated on Red Square with a lot of fanfare and lots of claqueurs (which means people who cheer for money), Putin’s arms pick up the next clap: in the strategic important city of Lyman, Putin’s soldiers are surrounded.
The US, which accused Russia of “land grabs” the day before, has imposed further sanctions on Russia in response to the Russian annexation. The punitive measures are aimed, among other things, against other Russian government officials, their family members and members of the military, as the US government announced on Friday in Washington.