Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia would never be accepted by the UK, according to Prime Minister Liz Truss.
In advance of President Vladimir Putin’s anticipated decision to recognise the territories once occupied by Ukraine as Russian following widely condemned referendums, she released a statement on Friday morning.
She said: “Vladimir Putin has, once again, acted in violation of international law with clear disregard for the lives of the Ukrainian people he claims to represent.
“The UK will never ignore the sovereign will of those people and we will never accept the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia as anything other than Ukrainian territory.
“Putin cannot be allowed to alter international borders using brute force. We will ensure he loses this illegal war.”