Russia will annex four parts of Ukraine which it currently occupies tomorrow, according to Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Tomorrow in the Georgian Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace at 3 pm. (1200 GMT) a signing ceremony will take place on the incorporation of the new territories into Russia,” Peskov said.
- The occupied regions of Ukraine which are to be annexed to Russia are Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
The annexation announcement follows the holding of referendums earlier this week on whether residents of the affected areas wished to remain part of Ukraine or become part of Russia.
Moscow has claimed that the residents overwhelmingly voted to be part of Russia, though Western countries do not recognize the legitimacy of the referendums.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that Israel would not recognize the results of referendums held in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
- “Israel recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and will not recognize the results of referendums in the eastern districts of Ukraine,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Source: Arutz Sheva