Ukraine said on Wednesday that Russian-staged votes in four Ukrainian regions on becoming part of Russia were "null and worthless", and that Kyiv would press on with efforts to liberate Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces.
Urging its international partners to impose tough new sanctions on Moscow and provide Kyiv with more military aid, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement: "Ukraine will never agree to any ultimatums."
"Forcing people in these territories to fill out some papers at the barrel of a gun is yet another Russian crime in the course of its aggression against Ukraine," it said.
Describing the "referendums" organised by Russia as a sham, it said they had "nothing to do with expression of will" and had no implications for Ukraine's "administrative-territorial system and internationally recognized borders."
"Ukraine and the international community condemn such actions of Russia and consider them null and worthless," the statement said.
"Ukraine has every right to restore its territorial integrity by military and diplomatic means, and will continue to liberate the temporarily occupied territories. Ukraine will never agree to any Russian ultimatums. Moscow's attempts to create new separation lines or weaken international support for Ukraine are doomed to fail."
Kyiv also called on Wednesday on the West to "significantly" increase its military aid to Ukraine after pro-Kremlin authorities in four Moscow-held regions of Ukraine declared victory in annexation votes.
"Ukraine calls on the EU, NATO and the Group of Seven to immediately and significantly increase pressure on Russia, including by imposing new tough sanctions, and significantly increase their military aid to Ukraine," Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement.
The ministry in particular named "tanks, combat aircraft, armoured vehicles, long-range artillery, anti-aircraft and missile defence equipment."
Kyiv also called on "all states and international organisations to immediately condemn the illegal actions of the Kremlin in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and to increase the isolation of Russia".
Late on Tuesday, officials in four Moscow-occupied regions of Ukraine claimed victory in the referendums, slammed as sham ballots by Kyiv and its Western allies.
President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that Ukraine will "defend" its citizens in these regions, denouncing the votes as a "farce".
