The Russia-Ukraine war has taken a different turn as Moscow officially annexed areas in southern and eastern Ukraine. This could potentially enable Russia to continue on the offensive with new launchpads for attacks.
Russian state news agency TASS quoted remarks from a member of the State Duma, the country's lower house of parliament. They said that following referendums, the newly-claimed Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions will officially come under Russian authority – joining the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics.
"Taking into account the preliminary results of the referendums and Russia's readiness to acknowledge them, the accession of the territories is likely to take place as early as Sept. 30," the lawmaker told TASS.
According to POLITICO, the Luhansk and Donetsk people's republics have long been the home of Kremlin-backed separatists since 2014. The Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, located west of the people's republics, have been largely under Moscow's control since the conflict broke out on Feb. 24, 2022.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the United Nations that despite criticism surrounding a possible annexation, Moscow would give these regions full "protection" should they choose to join Russia.
Before the referendum began, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed his support for incorporating the regions under the purview of Moscow. Moreover, officials from the Kherson region also requested to vote during the referendum.
Meanwhile, incumbent Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to mobilize more troops and even launch nuclear warfare should the Ukrainians continue to attack the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station.
"We are talking about partial mobilization. That is, only citizens who are currently in the reserves and, above all, those who have served in the armed forces, have military skills and relevant experience. Only they will be subject to conscription," Putin clarified.
He also made sure that the world knows Russia has nuclear weapons and infantry far more modern than those of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its allies.
"When the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we, of course, will use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people," said the Russian leader. "This is not a bluff. And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the weather vane can turn and point toward them."
Xi: China ready to team up with Russia
At the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Putin that Beijing is "ready to team up" with Moscow. (Related: Russia, China moving closer to formal alliance as world inches closer to global war.)
During the summit, the two leaders concurred that a unipolar world where the U.S. dominates is about to come to an end. In his opening remarks, Putin referred to the unicameral American rule as "ugly" and pointed out that the majority of countries have rejected American control.
The summit also touched on the geopolitical flashpoints of Ukraine and Taiwan but a lot of Western pundits are already capitalizing on a veiled allusion to Xi voicing "concerns" on the situation in Ukraine. The Russian president reiterated to his Chinese counterpart that he "highly appreciates" the "balanced position" of their "Chinese friends" in connection with the Ukrainian crisis.
For his part, the Chinese paramount leader said: "China is ready together with our Russian colleagues to show an example of a responsible world power and to play a leading role in bringing such a rapidly changing world onto a trajectory of sustainable and positive development."
Visit WWIII.news for more updates on the Russia-Ukraine war.
Watch this video of Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons to protect Russia and his people.
This video is from the Worldview Report channel on Brighteon.com.
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