Russia’s Parliament Could Consider Annexation Of Occupied Regions By Next Week

The Russian parliament could consider the annexation of four occupied regions of Ukraine as early as next week, according to the speaker of the upper house.

Valentina Matviyenko says lawmakers could meet to consider the move on 4 October, if the results of so-called “referendums” are favourable.

Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, and the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, have been asked to vote on whether to join Russia – in polls denounced as a sham by the international community.