WASHINGTON — The war in Ukraine lurched into a volatile new phase Friday as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees declaring the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, drawing widespread international condemnation and triggering punitive new economic measures from Washington and its Western allies.
Ukraine responded to the Russian move with a swift show of defiance, declaring that Moscow’s attempted territorial seizures in the country’s south and east would not stand. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a signing ceremony of his own, saying his government was submitting an “accelerated” application to join NATO.
“We are de facto allies already,” he said of Ukraine’s partnership with the West.
