The Zelensky government responded to the move by applying to join NATO, only to be immediately shut down by US and NATO officials. Can't have sacrificial pawns trying to rise above their station on the grand chessboard, after all.

But the empire's proxy war against Russia continues, and the Ukrainian government has announced its intentions to drive out Russia from all of the Ukrainian territories it has claimed as its own.

"For our plans, [Russia's annexation] doesn't matter," Zelensky advisor Mykhailo Podolyak told Politico, adding that Ukraine will "protect our land using all our forces" and "should liberate all its territories."