Putin signs accord annexing four occupied Ukrainian regions in lavish ceremony

"This is the will of millions of people," said Putin in a speech before hundreds of dignitaries in the St George's Hall of the Kremlin. "People living in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson region and Zaporizhzhia region are becoming our compatriots forever."

At a ceremony that Kyiv called a "Kremlin freak show" devoid of legal meaning, Putin delivered a 37-minute diatribe against the West, accusing it of "sheer Satanism", before signing the treaty documents with the Russian-backed heads of the four entities.

They then all clasped hands and chanted "Russia! Russia!" in unison with hundreds of dignitaries, who rose in a standing ovation.

The ceremony came three days after the completion of hastily staged so-called referendums in which Moscow's proxies in the occupied regions claimed majorities of up to 99 percent in favour of joining Russia.

Ukraine and Western governments said the votes, announced only 10 days ago, had been conducted at gunpoint and were bogus and illegitimate.

Putin however declared the people of the four Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions had made an "univocal choice" to join Russia in the referendums.

'Imperialist' West wants to see Russia as a 'colony'

In his speech, Putin also claimed the "imperialist" West wanted to see Russia as a "colony". 

"It is out of greed, with the aim of maintaining its unlimited power. These are the real reasons for this hybrid war that the West is waging against us... They want to make us into a colony," Putin said in televised remarks.

"They don't need Russia at all," he said. 

"The West is ready to step over everything to preserve the neo-colonial system, which allows it to...plunder the whole world," Putin added. 

He claimed it was "critical for them that all countries surrender their sovereignty to the United States".

Putin accuses West of Nord Stream leaks

The Russian leader kept hundreds of assembled dignitaries waiting for 18 minutes before entering the imposing columned St George's Hall through a pair of golden doors opened by high-stepping guards.

In his speech, Putin blamed the West for the recent blasts that resulted in multiple gas leaks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Europe. 

"The sanctions were not enough for the Anglo-Saxons: they moved onto sabotage," Putin said. "It is hard to believe but it is a fact that they organised the blasts on the Nord Stream international gas pipelines.

"They began to destroy the pan-European energy infrastructure ... It is clear to everyone who benefits from this. Of course, he who benefits did it," he said

Putin however offered no evidence for the claim.

The gas leaks, preceded by two explosions, occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines on Monday.

 Moscow and Washington both denied involvement in the incident.

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines have been shrouded in political tensions since the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine in February.

Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions, but the pipelines still contained gas though they were not operational.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)