In Moscow, the State Duma announced that on Monday it would ratify the annexation treaties signed with the Ukrainian region of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. These annexations come after seven months of Russian offensive in Ukraine and emergency „referendums” held in the occupied regions, which were denounced as „shams” by Kyiv and its allies. The news agencies write that the Russian authorities are following exactly the same steps they took when Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014. On Sunday, Pope Francis said that it was completely absurd that the world was currently facing a nuclear threat. The Sovereign Pontiff deeply deplored actions contrary to the principle of international law, referring to the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Moscow. The statement follows that of the Kremlin leader, namely that Russia could use nuclear weapons to defend what it considers to be its own territory, the BBC points out. In the following days, the Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, will travel to Kyiv and Moscow, the visit being part of ongoing efforts for „the implementation as soon as possible of a nuclear safety and security zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant”.
