• 

The head of Russia's upper house stated, on Tuesday, that the incorporation of Russia-controlled parts of four Ukrainian regions into Russia could be considered on October 4, as per the RIA Novosti news agency.

This is happening as the preliminary results of the referenda on the accession of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions to the country, were released by Moscow on Monday.

With 14.22% of the protocols processed, 97.91% of Russian voters supported the DPR's admission to the country, according to Russian media outlets.

Furthermore, 97.82% of people have supported the entry of the LPR into Russia, as per the preliminary results of processing 12.56% of the protocols.

With 18% of votes cast in Russian polling stations, 98.19% of voters supported the region of Zaporozhye region joining Russia.

According to the results of 14% of the protocols processed, 96.97% of Russian voters supported the entry of the Kherson region into the country.

It is worth noting that final results are expected by Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, more than a hundred foreign observers from 40 countries, excluding specialists from Russia, attending the referenda in the Lugansk and Donetsk people’s republics, as well as in Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, on their joining the Russian Federation, reported no violations, with the exception of threats and shelling from Ukraine.

The voting in the referenda of DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye, and Kherson's accession to the Russian Federation has begun early on Friday.

Residents of the Zaporozhye and Kherson areas joined the initiative last Tuesday after local public organizations submitted identical demands to their authorities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has lately indicated in a televised address last Wednesday that Russia will support the referenda results.

NATO countries came together to condemn the referenda, according to a statement revealed last Thursday.

On his account, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has lately threatened Russia with new sanctions in the event of referenda after White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that the US condemned the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye, and Kherson referenda to join Russia as "sham" actions and asserted that the US would not recognize the results.

The referenda, according to Sullivan, and a reported Russian plan to mobilize more soldiers, reflect Moscow's recent military defeats, including ceding sizable amounts of land to the Ukrainian military.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the Russian military took control of the Azov part of Zaporozhye and Kherson, liberating large cities, such as Kherson, Melitopol, and Berdiansk, and cut off Kiev from the Sea of Azov.