Russia is Ready to Incorporate the Donbass Territories: Peskov

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov confirmed that the institutions of his country are ready to incorporate Zaporizhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Lugansk, which are holding referendums to ask their citizens if they want to join the Russian federation.

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Once the  accession referendums are concluded, "the legal situation will radically change from the point of view of international law and that will have consequences on the security of these territories," Peskov added.

"Saving the populations of these territories... is at the center of our society's attention," President Vladimir Putin confirmed at a government meeting.

So far, citizen participation in the referendums exceeds 50 percent, despite the fact that this process has been developed under high-risk situations caused by Ukrainian attacks.

The last day of the accession referendums will be held on Tuesday from 08:00 to 16:00 local time. Subsequently, exit polls are allowed to publish provisional results while polling stations continue with the official counting of votes.

Authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic have established 450 polling stations in their region and over 200 on Russian territory. Authorities of the Lugansk People's Republic have set 461 polling stations on their territory and 201 sites in Russia.

There are 394 polling stations in Zaporizhia and 198 district commissions in Kherson. People from these regions are also able to vote in polling stations on Russian territory.