Vladimir Putin will announce Ukraine’s accession on September 30

• Voting on whether Ukraine should join Russia is set to end on September 27, 2022.
• NATO and the US have not publicly stated how they would react in the event that Russia launched a nuclear attack on Ukraine.
• The White House’s national security adviser said Washington had explained to Moscow the “catastrophic consequences.”

In his speech to parliament on September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to declare the inclusion of the seized territories of Ukraine into the Russian Federation, the British Ministry of Defence warned on Tuesday.

The Defence Ministry announced in its daily briefing on Twitter that the current round of referendums in these regions will end on September 27.

“Russia’s leaders almost certainly hope that any accession announcement will be seen as a vindication of the special military operation and will consolidate patriotic support for the conflict”, it said.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 27 September 2022

Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/xG1CgXqeKM

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🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/schw2ockbs

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) September 27, 2022

Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia are four Ukrainian provinces that are mostly under Moscow’s authority. Voting on whether to join Russia is now on its final day. The West has declared that it will not accept the results of what it considers to be fraudulent, illegal referendums.

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A new nuclear warning from Russia

NATO and the US have not publicly stated how they would react in the event that Russia launched a nuclear attack on Ukraine, but Jake Sullivan, the White House’s national security adviser, told CBS on Sunday that Washington had explained to Moscow the “catastrophic consequences” that such an attack would have for Russia.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser for Ukraine, stated in an interview with the Swiss daily Blick that his country was readying itself for the potential of a nuclear assault by Russia, but that it was the responsibility of nuclear-armed nations to dissuade Russia.

“…Where exactly should we evacuate people in the event of a Russian nuclear strike against Ukraine?” he asked. “That is why the use of nuclear weapons is a question of global security – this is no longer just about Ukraine.”

In the same interview, Podolyak stated that Ukrainians who had assisted Russia in organising the annexation referendums would be charged with treason and sentenced to at least five years in prison.

“We have lists of names of people who have been involved in some way,” He continued by saying that Ukrainians who were made to vote would not suffer any consequences. Residents were allegedly forced to vote in front of Russian forces and ballot boxes were delivered door to door, according to Ukrainian officials.

Fighting has been ongoing throughout the entire front line and none of the provinces are entirely under Moscow’s control. Ukrainian forces have reported more gains since routing Russian forces in a fifth province, Kharkiv, earlier this month.

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