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Russia will annex Ukrainian regions on Friday; Biden calls referenda 'a sham': Sept. 29 recap

This story recaps news from Sept. 29. Find the latest here.

The Kremlin announced Thursday that four regions of Ukraine that were forced into elections would be annexed into Russia on Friday.

Russia state media said Putin will make a speech at the Kremlin to mark the staged annexations, which are illegal under international law and call to mind Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014. Preparations were being made Thursday for the ceremony, with Red Square in Moscow being sealed off and a stage being erected.

President Joe Biden on Thursday called the votes “a sham – an absolute sham.”

The U.S. has proposed a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the votes in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, as a fourth leak in a major natural gas pipeline was reported on Thursday, NATO said sabotage is behind the damage, calling it "deliberate, reckless and irresponsible."

"The damage to the Nordstream 1 and Nordstream 2 pipelines in international waters in the Baltic Sea is of deep concern," the alliance said in a statement issued Thursday. It went on to say any deliberate action against "critical infrastructure" would face a response.

The new leak, reported by Swedish coast guards, is off the Nordic country's coasts. All four leaks are in international waters.

Other developments:

►The Finnish government says it will significantly limit passenger traffic on Finland’s border with Russia, banning Russian citizens traveling with tourist visas from entering the Nordic country effective Friday.

►The Ukrainian military’s general staff said Thursday that of seven Russian tanks sent to Lyman recently, Russian troops crashed two of them on the way there. It also said troops manning the tanks did not undergo training on how to use the vehicle's weapons. The Ukrainian military did not elaborate on how it knew about the tank unit’s condition.

A rabbi prays at a monument in Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday. Ukraine marked the 81st anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre.
A rabbi prays at a monument in Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday. Ukraine marked the 81st anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre.

Biden slams ‘shameless’ effort to annex parts of Ukraine

Biden strongly condemned what he called Russia’s “shameless and transparent” effort to annex parts of Ukraine and warned that the United States would never accept the results of Moscow-managed referendums to determine the fate of those areas.

“The so-called referenda was a sham – an absolute sham,” Biden said Thursday during a meeting with leaders of Pacific Island nations.

Russian officials claim that at least 87% of voters in four provinces – Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – voted during last week’s forced referendums to join Russia. The Kremlin was preparing to annex the four regions into Russia on Friday.

Biden, however, said the election results “were manufactured in Moscow, and the true will of the Ukrainian people is evident.”

“The United States will never, never, never recognize Russia’s claims on Ukraine sovereign territory,” he said.

Michael Collins

UN chief says Russia's move has 'no legal value'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday tweeted his thanks to the head of the United Nations for his “clear position” that the world won’t recognize Russia’s attempted annexation of parts of Ukraine.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Russia’s move violates the charter of the United Nations, has “no legal value” and must be condemned.

“It stands against everything the international community is meant to stand for,” Guterres said in unusually strong remarks. “It is a dangerous escalation.”

Blinken: 'Futile effort to mask ... a land grab in Ukraine'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that the U.S. will not recognize the "legitimacy or outcome" of Russia's "sham referenda," which will on Friday result in the Kremlin formally annexing four regions in Ukraine.

"The Kremlin’s sham referenda are a futile effort to mask what amounts to a further attempt at a land grab in Ukraine," Blinken said in a statement.

He added that the vote was conducted by force, in fear and at gunpoint. And he reiterated the plans for the U.S. and its allies to continue to support Ukraine's efforts in its fight against Russia's invasion.

Senators propose punishing countries that recognize Russia’s annexation

Countries that recognize Russia’s claim to Ukrainian regions it’s trying to annex would be cut off from U.S. economic or military assistance under legislation introduced in the Senate Thursday.

“Any nation that aids and abets Vladimir Putin in this absolutely illegal action ought to be held responsible for its complicity,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

Blumenthal introduced the legislation with Sen. Lindsey Graham, who said he’s glad Biden has denounced Russia’s attempted annexation.

“It’s time for Congress to lend our voice to the cause,” the South Carolina Republican said.

The senators said they will try to pass the legislation either on its own or as an amendment to the annual Pentagon policy bill that the Senate may vote on in October.

– Maureen Groppe

Russian foreign ministry: Ukraine, US don't 'accept reality' of annexations

The Kremlin's Foreign Ministry said Thursday that Ukraine and its allies aren't accepting "reality" when it comes to referenda held in recent days in four Ukrainian regions and their annexation into Russia.

Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday at a news briefing, according to Russian news organization Tass, that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "and, of course, most importantly, its American handlers do not want to accept reality, do not want to see this side of international law" in calling the elections in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia a sham.

Zakharova insisted the votes in the regions were legal.

Frustration over sanctions

As Russia moved to invade Ukraine in February, the U.S. imposed crippling sanctions on the Kremlin and individual Russians. Months later, members of Congress say the sanctions have wounded – but not crippled – the country.

Pressed on that issue at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Wednesday, Biden administration officials urged lawmakers to give the sanctions more time while also promising additional actions are in the works.

Read more here.

– Maureen Groppe

Putin to annex 4 Ukraine regions after staged referenda

Putin will hold a signing ceremony Friday to formally annex four regions in Ukraine after Moscow held what it described as referenda to join Russia, although the votes were condemned as an illegal sham by the West and there were widespread reports of voter coercion.

Russian state media said Putin will deliver a speech to mark the staged annexations, which calls to mind Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014. The so-called votes held this week were in Luhansk and Donetsk, in Ukraine's east, and in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, in the south. No credible international monitors observed the votes.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that the signing ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. local time (8 a.m. EDT). The international community has never recognized Russia's annexation of Crimea.

The development comes as Russia mobilized more troops to send to fight in Ukraine and as NATO formally blamed leaks on Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea on unknown saboteurs.

"These leaks are causing risks to shipping and substantial environmental damage. We support the investigations underway to determine the origin of the damage," the military alliance said in a statement, vowing a military response to any attack on NATO-country infrastructure.

– Kim Hjelmgaard

Russian soldiers stand on Red Square in central Moscow on Thursday as the square is sealed prior to a ceremony of the incorporation of the new territories into Russia. Banners on the stage read: "Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson - Russia!"
Russian soldiers stand on Red Square in central Moscow on Thursday as the square is sealed prior to a ceremony of the incorporation of the new territories into Russia. Banners on the stage read: "Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson - Russia!"

NATO responds to pipeline leaks

NATO allies on Thursday responded to the leaks in major natural gas pipelines that supply Europe by laying blame and issuing a warning.

"We, as Allies, have committed to prepare for, deter and defend against the coercive use of energy and other hybrid tactics by state and nonstate actors.  Any deliberate attack against Allies’ critical infrastructure would be met with a united and determined response," it continued.

The three pipeline leaks pumping huge volumes of natural gas into the Baltic Sea could discharge the equivalent of one-third of Denmark’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions, a Danish official warned Wednesday. European leaders have said sabotage is suspected to have caused the leaks.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Russia will annex 4 regions of Ukraine on Friday: live updates