Russia to 'formally annex' 4 more Ukraine areas today

New Delhi, September 29

Unmoved by recent military and economic setbacks, Russia will formally annex four areas of Ukraine’s territory on Friday at a ceremony in Kremlin to be presided over by Vladimir Putin.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the ceremony would take place at 3 pm (12:00 GMT) on Friday in the St George’s Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace “to sign agreements on the accession of new territories into the Russian Federation”. A celebratory concert on Red Square is also planned for Friday evening.

Agreements will be signed “with all four territories that held referendums and made corresponding requests to the Russian side”. Following the signing ceremonies, Putin will give a speech and meet with the administrators of the Ukrainian regions.

Russia-installed administrations in the four regions of southern and eastern Ukraine claimed the referendums have been recognised as valid in all four regions as the overall voter turnout has exceeded 50 per cent. The annexation is in addition to Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

A total of 86.89 per cent of voters have casted their ballots in the Donetsk as of Monday night, 83.61 per cent in Lugansk, 63.58 per cent in Kherson Region and 66.43 per cent in Zaporozhye Region. The referendum votes took place over five days, from September 23 to 27, and an overwhelming number of voters casted their lot with Russia. The US and EU nations have condemned the referendum as a sham.

Finland bars Russian tourists

• The Finnish government says it will significantly limit passenger traffic from Russia, banning its citizens travelling with tourist visas from entering the country effective Friday
• The government justified its decision by saying that continued arrivals of Russian tourists in Finland is endangering the country’s international relations

Exercise a sham

Under threats and at gunpoint people are being taken out of their homes to vote in glass ballot boxes. — Annalena Baerbock, German FM