– President Putin has announced the illegal seizure of four areas of Ukraine – saying they are now Russian territory
– In an angry speech decrying the West, he claimed people living in the regions had made their choice – but „referendums“ held there have been labelled shams
– The territory being seized is in Russian-held Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions
– Ukraine has responded by asking Nato to speed up giving it membership of the US-led defence alliance