Vladimir Putin has railed against Western “dictatorship” as he declared Russian rule over four regions of Ukraine.
It is the biggest forced occupation since the Second World War, amounting to 15% of Ukrainian territory.
Russia has been “reborn and strengthened”, the Russian president claimed during a ceremony at the Kremlin.
Following a series of referendums described by Kyiv and the West as a “sham”, Mr Putin said the people of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk had “made their choice” and decided to be governed from Moscow.
The results are “definitive”, he claimed, adding: “This is the will of millions of people. This is their right, their integral right.”
He said those in the affected regions are “becoming our compatriots forever” and signed documents said to incorporate them into his country.
Earlier this week, pro-Moscow officials said 93% of the ballots cast in Zaporizhzhia were in support of annexation, as were 87% of ballots in the southern Kherson region, 98% in Luhansk and 99% in Donetsk.
What has happened is “emphasised in the principles of United Nations”, Mr Putin said, and amounted to the “self-determination of people”.
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The European Unionfirmly condemned the move within minutes, saying it would never recognise “illegal” referendums held in Ukraine by Russian officials
It argued the referendums were a pretext for “this further violation of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
The bloc also threatened further sanctions to increase pressure on Russia.
Giorgia Meloni, widely expected to be named Italian prime minister next month, said Russia’s annexation of the four Ukrainian regions had “no legal and political value”.
In a statement, she said Mr Putin “once again demonstrates his Soviet-style, neo-imperialist vision that threatens the security of the entire European continent”.
UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres described the annexations as an illegal violation of the UN charter.
Image: Vladimir Putin signing the documents
Mr Putin urged the “Kyiv regime to immediately cease hostilities and return to the negotiation table”.
Regarding the West, he claimed that ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Western countries had “decided that the world would forever have to put up with its dictates”.
He went on: “The West expected that Russia would not be able to cope with such dictates and fall apart, but Russia has been reborn and strengthened.”
Regarding the people of the Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk) the Russian president claimed they were “victims of inhumane terrorist attacks conducted by the Kyiv regime”.
Expanding on his theme, he claimed that for years, people there had been “subjected to genocide and shelling”.
He added: “In Kherson, they tried to cultivate hatred for Russia. And, lately, the Kyiv regime threatened death and punishment to teachers.
“They were threatening repressions to the millions of people who supported Russia.”
As Mr Putin made his presentation in the Kremlin’s Georgievsky Hall, Russian forces were facing further setbacks on the battlefield.
Pro-Moscow officials have acknowledged that Russian troops are on the verge of encirclement in Lyman, their main garrison in the north of Donetsk.
Thus Ukraine could be on the way toward recapturing swathes of territory that Mr Putin has just declared to be part of Russia.
Image: Vladimir Putin with representatives from the four regions
Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said attacks against any part of the affected regions would be interpreted as acts of aggression against Russia itself.
Prime Minister Liz Truss has said the UK will never consider the regions as “anything other than Ukrainian territory”.
She added that Mr Putin had “acted in violation of international law” and had “clear disregard for the lives of the Ukrainian people he claims to represent”.
The PM continued: “Putin cannot be allowed to alter international borders using brute force. We will ensure he loses this illegal war.”
US President Joe Biden has said the referendums’ results were “manufactured in Moscow”, describing them as a “flagrant violation of the UN charter”.
An urgent transfer to the Gemelli hospital, where he was treated for pneumonia earlier this year, was among the options considered.
A request for an urgent escort from the Vatican was received by Rome police after 7am, sources there said, but, given how quickly his condition worsened, it was cancelled by Vatican officials before 7.35am.
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First images of pope’s casket
The Vatican said he died from a stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure.
He is currently lying in state in the Santa Marta Domus in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household.
Francis will be laid to rest Saturday, the Vatican announced on Tuesday, after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects.
The funeral will take place outside, in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica, and will start with a procession led by a priest carrying a cross, followed by the coffin and ordained clergy.
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‘Many were in tears, I was in tears’
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will lead the service. Nine days of mourning begin afterwards.
Unlike his predecessors, Francis will be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), as per his final burial wishes, announced on Monday.
The basilica is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, and is where Francis traditionally went to pray before and after foreign trips.
He will be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century.
In another change from tradition, he will be buried in a simple wooden casket, forgoing the centuries-old practice of burying the late pope in three interlocking caskets made of cypress, lead, and oak.
Francis, the first Jesuit and Latin American pontiff, had suffered from a chronic lung disease and had part of a lung removed as a young man.
Health issues plagued him throughout his later life, and he was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on 14 February for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He stayed at the hospital for 38 days before being released.
A bag belonging to the US Homeland Security Secretary was stolen on Sunday night – containing thousands of dollars in cash and an ID card that gives access to secure agency buildings.
Kristi Noem was eating at a Washington DC burger restaurant with family when a man in a face covering sat near her table and stole her purse, according to two people familiar with the theft.
The cabinet secretary was carrying $3,000 (£2,243) in cash because “her entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren”, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told NBC.
“She was using the withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities and Easter gifts.”
Image: The purse contained her ID card. Reuters file pic
Just before 8pm, a man wearing an N-95 mask walked into the restaurant and up a few stairs to where Ms Noem was eating dinner.
He sat near her table and moved his chair close to hers before sliding her purse toward him with his foot, according to surveillance footage viewed by law enforcement, the sources said.
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Within minutes, the man had Ms Noem’s purse under his jacket and walked out of the restaurant.
At least two on-duty members of the US Secret Service were in the restaurant – between Ms Noem and the front doors – according to a source who witnessed the meal.
They said the restaurant wasn’t very busy at the time.
The purse also contained credit cards, blank cheques, her passport, driver’s licence and a set of keys.
It’s unclear whether Ms Noem was specifically targeted – and investigators are looking into whether the man knew who the purse belonged to.
When asked about the incident, Ms Noem said: “I don’t think I can comment on it yet. It’s not resolved yet.”
She said the Secret Service was aware but said she hadn’t spoken to agency personnel about what happened.
Ms Noem is a vocal supporter of Donald Trump’s policies of deporting undocumented immigrants and fortifying the US-Mexico border to slow illegal migration.
Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about ending Russia’s “brutal war” on Ukraine in their latest phone call on Easter Monday, as Vladimir Putin said he was open to bilateral talks.
The prime minister and Ukrainian president spoke on Monday afternoon, when Sir Keir “reiterated his iron-clad support for Ukraine“.
A Downing Street spokesperson added that the prime minister “said that the UK supports Ukraine’s calls for Russiato commit to a full ceasefire and that now is the time for Putin to show he is serious about ending his brutal war”.
“They discussed the latest developments on the Coalition of the Willing, and looked forward to further progress towards a just and lasting peace,” the spokesperson added.
Mr Zelenskyy later said on social media that he had a “good and detailed conversation” with the prime minister, and added Ukrainian officials will be in London for talks on ending the war with Russia on Wednesday.
“We are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace,” he added.
The Ukrainian president added that the 30-hour Easter truce, which both Kyiv and Moscow accuse the other of violating, showed that Russia “are prolonging the war”.
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It comes as Mr Putin proposed bilateral talks with Ukraine on a longer ceasefire, which would mark the first time Russia held such talks since a failed peace deal soon after the invasion in 2022.
Speaking to a state TV reporter, the Russian president said: “We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative (the Easter truce), especially since we are talking about the bright Easter days.”
When asked about Mr Zelenskyy’s calls to extend the 30-hour ceasefire into a 30-day pause on civilian targets, he added: “This is all a subject for careful study, perhaps even bilaterally. We do not rule this out.”
The Ukrainian president said on Sunday evening that the Russian army had “violated Putin’s ceasefire more than 2,000 times” during the day, and accused Russia of “failing” to “uphold its own promise of a ceasefire”.
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From Saturday: Why Putin offered an Easter truce?
It also comes after Donald Trump has said he hopes Russia and Ukraine “will make a deal this week,” after he and his secretary of state Marco Rubio warned that the US will walk away from efforts to broker a peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon.
The US president said on his Truth Social platform that both countries would “start to do big business” with the US after ending the war.
Last month, Ukraine accepted Mr Trump’s proposal for a 30-day truce, but Mr Putin refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire, saying crucial issues of verification had not been sorted out.
He then said he would agree not to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. However, both sides have accused each other of breaking the moratorium on attacks on energy targets and at sea.