Putin annexes Ukraine land; Kyiv seeks NATO entry

Kyiv: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties Friday to illegally annex more occupied Ukrainian territory in a sharp escalation of his seven-month invasion.

Ukraine's president countered with a surprise application to join the NATO military alliance.

Putin's land-grab and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's signing of what he said is an "accelerated" NATO membership application sent the two leaders speeding faster on a collision course that is cranking up fears of a full-blown conflict between Russia and the West.

Putin vowed to protect newly annexed regions of Ukraine by "all available means," a renewed nuclear-backed threat he made at a Kremlin signing ceremony where he also railed furiously against the West, accusing the United States and its allies of seeking Russia's destruction.

Zelenskyy then held a signing ceremony of his own in Kyiv, releasing video of him putting pen to papers he said were a formal NATO membership request.

Putin has repeatedly made clear that any prospect of Ukraine joining the world's largest military alliance is one of his red lines and cited it as a justification for his invasion the biggest land war in Europe since World War II. In his speech, Putin urged Ukraine to sit down for peace talks but immediately insisted he won't discuss handing back occupied regions. Zelenskyy said there'd be no negotiations with Putin.

"We are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia," the Ukrainian president said.

In his signing ceremony in the Kremlin's ornate St. George's Hall, Putin accused the West of fuelling the hostilities as part of what he said is a plan to turn Russia into a "colony" and "crowds of slaves."

The hardening of his position, in the conflict that has killed and wounded tens of thousands of people, cranked up tensions, already at levels unseen since the Cold War.

Western countries responded with an avalanche of condemnation and announcement of more punishment of Russia. The U.S. announced sanctions for more than 1,000 people and firms connected to Russia's invasion, including its Central Bank governor.

Of Putin's annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, President Joe Biden said: "Make no mistake: These actions have no legitimacy."

The European Union rejected and condemned "the illegal annexation."

Its 27 member states said they will never recognise the illegal referendums that Russia organised "as a pretext for this further violation of Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called it "the largest attempted annexation of European territory by force since the Second World War." He said the war is at "a pivotal moment," and that Putin's decision to annex more territory Russia now has claimed to have sovereignty over 15% of the country marks "the most serious escalation since the start of the war."

Putin's Kremlin ceremony came three days after the completion in occupied regions of Moscow-orchestrated "referendums" on joining Russia that Kyiv and the West dismissed as a bare-faced land grab held at gunpoint and based on lies.

In his fiery speech at the ceremony, Putin insisted that Ukraine must treat the Kremlin-managed votes "with respect."

After the signing ceremony of treaties to join Russia, Moscow-installed leaders of the occupied regions gathered around Putin and they all linked hands, joining chants of "Russia! Russia!" with the audience.

Putin cut an angry figure as he accused the United States and its allies of seeking to destroy Russia. He said the West acted "as a parasite" and used its financial and technological strength "to rob the entire world."

He portrayed Russia as pursuing a historical mission to reclaim its post-Soviet great power status and counter Western domination that he said is collapsing.

"History has called us to a battlefield to fight for our people, for the grand historic Russia, for future generations," he said.