TheCable

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is expected to hold a signing ceremony to annex four regions in Ukraine. 

Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson, said the Russian president will on Friday deliver a speech on the annexation.

“Tomorrow at 15:00 (12:00GMT) in the St George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace a signing ceremony will be held on incorporating the new territories into Russia,” he said.

According to Al Jazeera, Russia had held referendums in the four occupied regions in a bid to absorb them.

Armed troops were reported to have gone door-to-door with election officials to collect ballots during the five days of voting.

The exercise was held in Luhansk and Donetsk in the east, and in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south.

The formal annexation of the regions would mean future attempts by Ukraine to reclaim them will be described as an attack on Russia.

Ukraine and its allies have described the voting process as “illegitimate” and a “sham”.