Putin to attend ceremony of Ukraine’s breakaway regions’ joining Russia

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend a ceremony Friday on Ukraine’s breakaway regions’ joining Russia, a Kremlin spokesman said on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters at a press briefing in Moscow, Dmitry Peskov said Putin will meet with the authorities of Ukraine's separatist regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, and sign the agreements on joining Russia, which will be followed by a ceremony.

The ceremony will take place on Friday at the Kremlin at 3 p.m. local time (1200GMT), and the agreements will be signed with all four territories where referendums were held, Peskov said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that over 98% of voters voted to join Russia following referendums in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.

The votes have been widely condemned by the international community, with European nations and the US calling them "sham" and saying they will not be recognized.