Ukraine wants more weapons to retaliate against Russian annexation of four regions

For their part, the authorities controlled by Moscow in the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia must formally request their attachment to Russia, after which the Russian parliament and Vladimir Putin must record their annexation, a procedure which can be counted in hours. or in days.

The separatist leaders of Lugansk and Donetsk have already indicated that they are going to Moscow. The head of the Russian occupation in Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, has indicated that he will ask the Russian president to complete the annexation "as soon as possible".

The West has denounced this Russian escalation and promised new sanctions, while the results announced Tuesday evening of the polls flirt in places with 100% "yes" to annexation by Moscow.

The annexation and the threat by Russia to defend these territories with the atomic bomb did not lead Ukraine to lay down its arms, quite the contrary. It continues its counter-offensive in the East and the South while calling on Westerners "to immediately and significantly increase the pressure on Russia".

kyiv wants "tanks, combat aircraft, long-range artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems".

After liberating much of the northeast, the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian forces continue to advance in the east, although progress is slower. They are also on the offensive in the South, with less marked results.

The city of Kharkiv, the second in the country located on the Russian border, was again bombed overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, leaving 18,000 homes without electricity, without causing any deaths.

- "Victory to us" -

On a railway site gutted by the night strikes, employees clear the debris. This Russian-speaking region has been resisting and repelling Russian troops for more than seven months and here it is said loud and clear that the annexation votes will not change Ukrainian determination.

"These votes are not legitimate. We believe in our forces, we believe in the Ukrainian armed forces. In the end, victory will be ours," insists Denis Kotchkov, a 30-year-old railway worker.

"We are a Russian-speaking population, and what did we get? Did we get peace, fraternity? No, you see what we got," says his colleague Irina Maïor, 51, standing near from a mountain of debris.

In addition, in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Donetsk region, five civilians were killed and 10 injured on Tuesday, according to Ukrainian authorities.

On the Russian side, the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reservists to try to strengthen its defenses continues, while doubts hang over the quality, experience and equipment of these troops, arousing criticism even among propagandists Russians.

Met in front of an army center in Saint-Petersburg, Galina, 65 and whose daughter is being treated for cancer, said that the mobilization of her son-in-law is "another stroke of fate" for her family.

"He works in construction. In the army, he was a shooter at the time," says Galina, holding her grandson Micha by the hand.

- How to live ? -

"How are we going to live now, if it's for a long time, I don't know," she sighs.

Russia's neighbours, Georgia and Kazakhstan, have for their part confirmed an exodus to their countries from Russian territory, with many Russians seeking to escape mobilization.

For its part, the Kremlin hammered again on Tuesday its right to use nuclear weapons to defend the Ukrainian territories that it will have annexed.

Westerners assured that their determination to support and arm Ukraine was not undermined. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, thus denounced on Wednesday “illegal” annexation ballots with “manipulated” results.

Even China, China's closest partner, went there with its criticisms, claiming "the territorial integrity of all countries".

Turkey for its part, privileged mediator of the conflict on the questions in particular of exchange of prisoners and exports of food products, has a little more increased the banking isolation of Russia.

Three Turkish state-owned banks will give up the Russian payment system Mir, according to a senior Turkish official, a crucial means for Russians abroad since they were deprived of Visa and Mastercard.

Finally, the EU promised a "firm" response to the "sabotage" of the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, which were both affected by spectacular leaks preceded by underwater explosions.

Moscow, for its part, also mentioned a possible "sabotage". These tubes were disconnected because of the war in Ukraine.