Russia triggers plan to formally annex occupied Ukrainian regions

Four Russia-occupied regions announce referendum plans; votes will be held on whether to become part of Russia; Ukraine and the West regard votes as sham and illegal

Russian-installed leaders in occupied areas of four Ukrainian regions set out plans for referendums on joining Russia this week, a step an ally of President Vladimir Putin said would alter the geopolitical landscape forever.
 

Russian officials portrayed the move as one that would give Moscow a claim to territory that it could defend with any means possible. Ukraine dismissed it as a stunt by Russia to try to reclaim the initiative after crushing losses on the battlefield.
 

"Sham ‘referendums’ will not change anything," tweeted Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
 

"Russia has been and remains an aggressor illegally occupying parts of