Putin has his back to the wall with the clock ticking ever louder
CNN
Time is running out for Russian President Vladmir Putin, and he knows it.
Meanwhile his bombast continues: announcing the annexation of Ukrainian territories on Friday, Putin declared Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson will become part of Russia "forever." He is rushing to claim a victory and cement slender gains and sue for peace, running a dangerous political tab, regardless of the fanfare in Moscow.
He called on Ukraine to "cease fire" immediately and "sit down at the negotiating table," but added: "We will not negotiate the choice of the people. It has been made. Russia will not betray it."
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