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Added on the 19/10/2022 17:18:42 - Copyright : AFP EN
The United States says that President Vladimir Putin's imposition of martial law in annexed Ukrainian territories shows his claim people wanted to join Russia was a "lie." "President Putin annexed these regions claiming that there were individuals in these regions who so desperately sought refuge from the Ukrainian state that they wanted to join Mother Russia," State Department spokesperson Ned Price tells reporters. "Now Putin is, I think, proving the lie by declaring martial law." SOUNDBITE
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs an accord to annex the occupied regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia at a treaty signing ceremony in St George’s Hall at the Kremlin. The President signs alongside the leaders of the Moscow-held regions, and in front of Russian deputies and senators. IMAGES
All present 159 members of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russia's parliament, vote in favour of President Vladimir Putin's decision to introduce martial law into the Ukrainian territories Moscow claims to have annexed. IMAGES
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says rebel attacks remain ongoing in the east and threatens martial law if the ceasefire fails. Nathan Frandino reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a lavish ceremony on Red Square following a landslide victory in his country’s presidential elections. The concert marks the tenth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, when Moscow formally recognised the peninsula as a federal subject. IMAGES
People respond to a call from opposition figure Yulia Navalnaya to turn up at polling stations at midday Moscow time (0900 GMT) in a form of protest that attempts to overwhelm them. Before his death in an Arctic prison last month, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who galvanised mass anti-Putin rallies, had urged Russians to protest on March 17. The polling station is where opposition leader Alexei Navalny was registered. IMAGES