Kremlin: attack on annexed territory will be an attack on Russia

The Kremlin said on Friday it would consider attacks against any part of the regions of Ukraine that it is about to annex as acts of aggression against Russia itself. Western governments and Kyiv said the votes breached international law and were coercive and non-representative.

The Kremlin said on Friday it would consider attacks against any part of the regions of Ukraine that it is about to annex as acts of aggression against Russia itself. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters Russia would "de jure" incorporate parts of Ukraine which are not under the control of Russian forces into Russia itself as part of its move to annex four regions of Ukraine.

Russia is moving to annex the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine after holding what it called referendums in occupied areas of Ukraine. Western governments and Kyiv said the votes breached international law and were coercive and non-representative.

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