Eva Deschamps / September 30, 2022
Russia will ratify on Friday the annexation of the territories it controls in Ukraine during a ceremony at the Kremlin where Vladimir Putin will deliver a speech, the Russian presidency announced Thursday.
A ceremony of signing agreements on the entry of the new territories into the Russian Federation will be held tomorrow at 15:00 in the Kremlin," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "President Vladimir Putin will deliver a voluminous speech at the event," he added.
This announcement comes after the organization of annexation "referendums" in four regions of Ukraine controlled in part by Moscow: Donetsk and Lugansk in the east, Kherson and Zaporijjia in the south.
These polls are called "sham" by Kiev and the West, which has already said it will not recognize the annexation of these territories.
Russia has already annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea (south) in 2014, which is not recognized by the international community.
The announced annexation of the Ukrainian territories marks an escalation in Russia's offensive in Ukraine.
Several Russian officials and commentators have said that once these territories are annexed and considered by Moscow as part of its territory, Russia could use nuclear weapons to "defend" them.
Putin said last week that Russia was ready to use "all means" of its arsenal to "defend" its territory. "This is not a bluff," he said.