At least 30 people were killed and 88 wounded after a convoy in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia city was hit by a Russian Missile on Friday, said Ukrainian officials, reported news agency ANI, citing CNN. An 11-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy were among others killed in the incident, according to the head of Ukraine's National Police, Ihor Klymenko.
"The enemy launched a rocket attack on a civilian humanitarian convoy on the way out of Zaporizhzhia," Oleksandr Starukh, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said on Telegram, according to ANI.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday formally announced the annexation of four regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and claimed that "this is the will of millions of people."
In a lengthy speech declaring the annexation of Ukrainian territories in the St George's Hall at a Kremlin ceremony, Putin said the residents in the four annexed regions will now be Russia's "citizens forever".
The speech was filled with highly critical rhetoric about Ukraine and its Western allies who have imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking further, Putin said Russia would now defend its new territory "with all the means at its disposal."
He also hailed the referendum conducted in the Russia controlled areas of Ukraine and called the result "the will of millions of people," reported news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, India on Friday abstained on a draft resolution tabled in the United Nations Security Council that condemned Russia’s "illegal referenda" and annexation of four Ukrainian territories. New Delhi also called for an immediate cessation of violence while stressing the need for a return to the negotiating table.
On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics requested help in defending themselves. What followed the military operation was a slew of sanctions imposed by the western countries targeting the Russian economy.
(With agency inputs)