Putin calls on Ukraine to agree to ceasefire and negotiations

Ukraine’s government needs to agree to a ceasefire and return to the negotiating table, says Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We are ready for this,” Putin said as he declared the parts of Ukraine occupied by Moscow’s forces to be part of Russia. Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions are to be incorporated through “treaties” signed with the states, which Moscow has recognised as independent.

Putin stressed that the people in these regions are now “our citizens forever.” He stressed that there would be no negotiations with Ukraine concerning the annexed territories, citing referendums conducted in the areas.

Putin invoked the “right of self-determination” of the people living in the four areas, despite reports of Ukrainian residents in the occupied territories having been forced to vote.