Arabnews24.ca:Tuesday 27 September 2022 05:41 PM: All four of the occupied areas of Ukraine have voted to join Russia after referendums in the republics and regions, pro-Moscow officials have said.
The UK's foreign secretary had earlier described the votes in the self-declared republics of Luhansk and Donetsk and the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as "sham" referendums.
Most of the world will not recognise the results.
Russia-installed election officials have said 93% of the ballots case in the Zaporizhzhia region were in support of annexation, as were 87% of ballots in the southern Kherson region, 98% in Luhansk and 99% in Donetsk.
The preordained outcome sets the stage for a dangerous new phase in Russia's seven-month war in Ukraine because it is expected to serve as a pretext for Moscow to annex the four areas.
That could happen as soon as Friday.
It comes as Russia has ramped up warnings that it could deploy nuclear weapons to defend its territory, including newly acquired land.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after the balloting that "the situation will radically change from the legal viewpoint, from the point of view of international law, with all the corresponding consequences for protection of those areas and ensuring their security."
Moscow has also mobilised more than a quarter of a million more troops to deploy to a front line of more than 620 miles.
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Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the UN Security Council by video from Kyiv that Russia's attempts to annex Ukrainian territory will mean "there is nothing to talk about with this president of Russia".
The remark appeared to rule out negotiations.
The referendums in the Luhansk and Kherson regions and parts of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia began on 23 September, often with armed officials going door-to-door collecting votes.
The ballots asked residents whether they wanted the areas to be incorporated into Russia.
Moscow-backed officials in the four occupied regions in southern and eastern Ukraine said polls closed on Tuesday afternoon after five days of voting.
Russian president Vladimir Putin is expected to address Russia's parliament about the referendums on Friday, and Valentina Matviyenko, who chairs the parliament's upper house, said lawmakers could consider annexation legislation on 4 October.
