The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to formally annex four territories from Ukraine on Friday — capping a week in which Moscow-backed proxies claimed victory in staged and internationally condemned referendums.
Russian soldiers stand on Red Square in central Moscow on Thursday as the square is sealed off prior to a ceremony for the alleged incorporation of new territories into Russia. Banners on the stage read:"Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson — Russia!"
Speaking to reporters Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin has summoned Russian lawmakers to the Kremlin's ornate St. George's Hall for a signing ceremony to incorporate the Ukrainian lands Friday 3 p.m. local time.In a related move, Moscow authorities announced they would limit traffic in the city center on Friday ahead of a mass rally in support of annexation.
On state TV channel Russia 24, a countdown clock to the celebration now figures prominently on the screen., citing the head of the upper house of parliament. The process has drawn widespread international condemnation. Ukraine and its Western partners have called the referendums"shams" carried out at gunpoint. The United Nations political affairs chiefviolated international law and the outcomes cannot be regarded as expressions of popular will.
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