Four parts of Ukraine that are occupied by Vladimir Putin’s war machine are to be formally annexed by Russia. Or, as the official Russian news agency, Tass, puts it: “The official signing ceremony uniting four new territories with Russia will be held on Friday, September 30, at 3pm in the Kremlin.”
“President Putin will deliver a voluminous speech at this event,” said Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov – exciting news for the 85% or more of the people of these Ukrainian provinces who, according to Tass, voted in favour of returning to the motherland. Although reports of pro-Russian functionaries going door-to-door to encourage people to vote might hint at these “referendums” not being as free and fair as the Kremlin would have the world believe.
