Russia President Vladimir Putin will begin annexing four Ukrainian regions Friday following a self-run referendum that the West and Kyiv have decried as a sham.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week accused the Kremlin of bussing in Russians to vote in the referenda and Ukrainian officials over the weekend reported coercive tactics involving intimidation to force Ukrainian’s to vote.
People walk past a billboard reading "Forever with Russia" in Luhansk, Luhansk People's Republic controlled by Russia-backed separatists, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022.Annexing the four eastern and southern regions means Russia will begin to claim another 15 percent of Ukraine as Russian territory.
Moscow has repeatedly said it will consider an attack on the regions, where heavy fighting has persisted for seven months, as an attack on Russia itself – leaving some defense officials concerned that Russia could resort to even more aggressive tactics like nuclear escalation. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Caitlin McFall is a Fox News Digital reporter. You can reach her at [email protected] or @ctlnmcfall on Twitter. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox
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