Russia celebrates the annexation of Ukrainian regions today: the UN Security Council votes to condemn the referendums | Abroad

The leaders of the occupied territories appointed by Russia will attend Friday’s ceremony to sign the agreement with Russia. They asked to join the Russian Federation on Wednesday after referendums in the four vast majority regions announced that they wanted to be part of Russia. In Donetsk the vote was the highest with over 99 percent in favour, and the lowest percentage of annexation votes was 87 percent in Kherson.

Yesterday, Putin signed all the necessary decrees to prepare for the official annexation. Putin recognizes Kherson and Zaporizhia regions as independent regions by decree

Ukraine and its Western allies described the referendums as fictitious images with a predetermined outcome. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly said that the referendums are illegal and that Ukraine will respond harshly. His country’s top defense and security officials called an emergency meeting on Friday.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the Russian plans on Thursday. He said that annexing the territories “has no legal value and deserves condemnation.” He also described the plans as a violation of international law and a “dangerous escalation” of the war in Ukraine. “This should not be accepted.”

So today the United Nations Security Council will vote on a resolution condemning the referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine. This was stated by the French presidency of the Council.

The resolution, drafted by the United States and Albania, does not have a chance to pass due to Russia’s veto, but must then be submitted to the UN General Assembly.

On Friday, a concert will be held on Red Square in central Moscow to celebrate the merging of the four regions. In 2014 there was a similar concert after the annexation of Crimea. Putin was also present.