London: On September 30, Putin will announce the integration of the occupied Ukrainian regions into Russia

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The referendums, which are underway in four Ukrainian provinces, are due to conclude today

Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to announce the accession of occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation during a speech to parliament on September 30, according to the British Ministry of Defense, while a Ukrainian presidential adviser said that Ukrainians, who help in holding the referendums, they will face charges of treason and prison terms of at least five years.

The referendumswhich are underway in four Ukrainian provinces, are due to be completed today and “Russia’s leaders are almost certainly hoping that an announcement on the integration of these regions into the Russian Federation will be seen as justification for the special military operation and will boost patriotic support of the conflict,” said the British Ministry of Defense during the daily update on Twitter.

In the meantime, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak stated in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Blick that “we have lists of names of people who have participated in some way” in the holding of the referendums.

“We are talking about hundreds of collaborators (of the occupation forces). They will be prosecuted for treason. They face prison terms of at least five years,” he added.

Podoliak said that Ukrainians who were forced to vote would not be punished.

Moscow hopes to annex the provinces of Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhia in eastern and southern Ukraine, which make up about 15 percent of Ukraine.

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