BELGRADE, Serbia 

Moldova and North Macedonia on Friday condemned the annexation of four Ukrainian regions by Russia. 

“I strongly condemn and reject Russia’s attempt to illegally annex occupied regions of Ukraine following sham votes it staged at gunpoint,” Moldova’s President Maia Sandu said on Twitter.

She underscored that Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, as well as Crimea are parts of Ukraine.

“Moldova’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity remains unfaltering,” pledged Sandu.

North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani also expressed Skopje’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty against Russia’s move.

“Condemn in the strongest possible terms the illegal annexation of Ukraine’s regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson by Russia as a blatant breach of rules-based international order. Full support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier on Friday announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions in violation of international law following highly disputed referendums that have been denounced by the West and its allies as a “cynical land grab.”

The territories amount to more than 90,000 square kilometers (34,749 square miles) or nearly 15% of Ukraine’s total area.