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The Kremlin says that the four regions of Ukraine that held referendums on joining Russia will be incorporated into the country on Friday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend a ceremony in the Kremlin at which they will be officially folded into Russia.
Peskov told reporters Thursday that the heads of the four regions where the five-day voting wrapped up Tuesday will sign treaties to join Russia during Friday’s ceremony at the Kremlin’s St George’s Hall. Ukraine and the West have denounced the votes as a sham.
The Moscow-installed heads of Ukraine’s Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions claimed residents backed the move in hastily organised votes that the West says were a sham.
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