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Russian President Vladimir Putin will begin formally annexing four more regions of Ukraine on Friday at a signing ceremony following the conclusion of this week’s voluntary referendum that the West and Kyiv denounced as a hoax.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that the ceremony would take place in Moscow “based on an agreement on the accession of new territories to the Russian Federation,” Reuters first reported.
The “agreement” would apparently be signed “with all four regions that held referendums and made corresponding requests to the Russian side,” he added.
Russia makes defense as Ukraine advances in Luhansk despite referendum
Local officials of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaforizia and Kherson, set up in Moscow, are expected to represent the four provinces after claiming to have achieved monumental support for Russia’s illegal seizure of Ukrainian territories. ing.
The poll ends Tuesday after five days of voting organized by Russian agents who claim they have won 93 percent in Zaporizhia, 87 percent in Kherson, 98 percent in Luhansk and 99 percent in Donetsk.
Western officials have repeatedly rejected a referendum, pointing to Russia’s last move to annex parts of Ukraine when it voted in Crimea in 2014, with about 97% of Crimeans voting to secede from Ukraine. claimed to support
Russian agents blackmail Ukrainians to force referendum on annexation: local official
Later reports said the election had been tampered with, with only 30% of Crimeans voting on the minutes, and only 15% in favor of annexing the peninsula.
Secretary of State Antony Brinken last week accused the Kremlin of bussing Russians to vote in the referendum, and Ukrainian officials said over the weekend that coercive measures, including threats to force Ukrainians to vote, had been banned. reported tactics.
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Annexing the four eastern and southern regions means Russia will begin claiming another 15% of Ukraine as Russian territory.
Moscow has repeatedly said it considers an attack on an area where heavy fighting has been going on for seven months to be an attack on Russia itself, and some defense officials have said Russia will continue to take more offensive actions, such as nuclear escalation. I am concerned that I may resort to unfair tactics.
Putin will deliver a speech after the ceremony.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.