Vladimir Putin proclaims annexation, Ukraine's Zelensky hails gains: Top updates

As Russia formally annexed four Moscow-held regions of Ukraine in a lavish ceremony organised in the Kremlin defying international law, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday hailed the successes of Kyiv's counteroffensive in the east. "We have significant results in the east of our country. These steps mean a lot to us," Zelensky said.

"We must liberate our entire land and this will be the best proof that international law and human values cannot be broken by any terrorist state, even one as insolent as Russia," he added.

Here are top updates on the Russia-Ukraine war:

1. Ukraine President Zelensky said during an address, “The path of our enemy is also completely clear -- defeat, shame and condemnation."
2. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow has absorbed four Ukrainian regions as the war in Ukraine enters its eighth month.
3. Accusing US and its allies of targeting Russia, Vladimir Putin vowed to use “all means available” to fend off attacks- repeating a reference to the country's nuclear arsenals.
4. “They want to see us as a colony. They don't want equal cooperation, they want to rob us. They want to see us not as a free society, but a crowd of soulless slaves," Putin said.
5. Vladimir Putin also condemned the US for carpet bombings during the Korean and Vietnam wars. “They created a precedent, by the way,” Putin said.
6. Zelensky said that Kyiv would not negotiate with Russia adding that Ukraine had requested for fast-track NATO membership. "Ukraine will not hold any negotiations with Russia as long as Putin is the president of the Russian Federation. We will negotiate, but with the new president," Zelensky said.