Russia-Ukraine updates: Putin suspends key US-Russia nuclear treaty in speech denouncing West
President Vladimir Putin said he'd sought an "open dialogue" with the West.
Almost a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout the east and south.
Putin's forces pulled out of key positions in November, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the southern port city. Russian drones have continued bombarding civilian targets throughout Ukraine, knocking out critical power infrastructure as winter sets in.
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Zelenskyy signs application for accelerated accession to NATO
In the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin saying he has annexed occupied territories in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is applying for "accelerated accession" to NATO, saying it is already de-facto allied with the alliance's members.
"Today, here in Kyiv, in the heart of our country, we are taking a decisive step for the security of the entire community of free nations," he said in a statement.
Putin formally annexes occupied Ukrainian regions
Vladimir Putin has formally annexed four occupied territories in Ukraine, the biggest land grab in Europe since World War II and one of the most egregious violations of international law since then.
It is a key moment in the war with major implications for what happens next.
Russia has annexed 15% of Ukraine’s territory, including several major cities -- but right now none of the areas Putin is seizing are under full Russian control and all are facing Ukrainian efforts to retake them.
The annexation will absorb the self-declared People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region, as well as parts of the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions that Russia occupies.
At a ceremony in the Kremlin today Putin signed “treaties of accession” with the Russian-installed leaders of the regions.
Meanwhile, on Red Square outside, preparations have been made for a large concert-rally to celebrate the annexation.
This is another no-going back moment for Putin. By making these territories part of Russia itself he has made negotiations even more difficult. He has locked himself into a long war and linked the survival of his regime to it.
He cannot give up the regions in negotiations -- in 2020, when he changed the constitution to let him stay in power beyond his term limits he also introduced a new clause that forbids Russian president’s from giving up any Russian land.
But perhaps even more importantly, he is likely to lose parts of these regions -- Ukraine is on the counteroffensive still in northeast Donbas and Kherson.
The Kremlin on Friday said it will treat attacks on the newly annexed regions as direct attacks on Russia itself. The implied threat is that Putin could use nuclear weapons in some form against Ukraine if it does not stop.
Most experts believe that for now Putin is very unlikely to use a nuclear weapon -- they see his threats as bluffs. But, they say the risk he might is growing and is now the most serious it has been.
For now, many experts believe Putin would prefer to use mobilized troops to try to stabilize Russia’s front lines in Ukraine and then try to outlast the West through the energy crisis this winter. But should Ukraine continue to advance and Russia’s position in the newly annexed regions starts to collapse, the risk he will use a nuclear weapon could grow.
-ABC News' Patrick Reevell
Major attack on civilian convoy near Zaporizhzhia leaves many feared dead and injured
Ukrainian officials say a Russian strike on a humanitarian convoy has killed at least 23 people and wounded 28.
The convoy of about 40 vehicles was heading into Russian-occupied territory to pick up their relatives and then take them to safety when it was struck.
Videos that have emerged from the scene show destroyed vehicles along the road and what appears to me a number of casualties as well.
Putin signs decrees for annexation of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia
Russian President Vladimir Putin took the intermediary step on Thursday of signing decrees paving the way for the occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to be formally annexed into Russia.
The Kremlin publicly released the decrees.
Putin is scheduled to hold a signing ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday to formally annex the two regions, along with the Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
-ABC News' Jason Volack