Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics and the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions have signed treaties on uniting these regions with Russia. The ceremony took place on Friday in the Grand Kremlin Palace's St. George's Hall. Before signing the documents, Putin delivered a speech about these territories joining Russia.

■ Signing of treaties on accession...to Russia (President of Russia)
■ Putin signs treaties on accession of Donbass, Zaporozhye, and Kherson to Russia (RT.com)

Kremlin says it will formalize integration into Russia of four Ukrainian regions that have voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the Russian Federation.

Speaking on Thursday, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the process is slated to take place at Kremlin on Friday, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin is to deliver a "major" address to mark the occasion. Peskov identified the regions in question as Donetsk and Luhansk, which are located in eastern Ukraine, as well as Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south of the ex-Soviet republic. ● Later on Thursday, Putin signed decrees paving the way for Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to be formally incorporated into Russia territory. ● The referendums were held across the foursome regions over five days earlier this month.The plebiscites harked back to a similar vote that was held in 2014, during which Ukraine's Crimea peninsula voted to join Russia.Together the five regions make up some 20 percent of Ukraine's soil.Kiev and its Western allies, though, describe the votes as "sham."

Sanctioning Russia is no longer enough for the US, which has now switched to sabotage, the president claimed | The US orchestrated the blasts on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, which delivered Russian natural gas to Germany, because they “obviously” benefit from it, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. ● Putin accused Washington of trying to pressure the EU into banning Russian supplies to “completely get their hands on the European market.”

💬 “But the sanctions are no longer enough for the Anglo-Saxons,” he said, using Russian shorthand for the US-UK transatlantic alliance. “They have turned to sabotage – it’s unbelievable, but it’s a fact – by organizing the explosions on the Nord Stream international gas pipelines,” the president stated.  ● “They de facto began the destruction of the common European energy infrastructure. It’s obvious to everyone who benefits from it. Those who benefit are the ones who have done it.”

Maria Zakharova also stressed that the region was crammed with NATO infrastructure | NATO member countries conducted drills in July using deep-sea equipment near the Nord Streams leaks site, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday. "In July, there were NATO drills with the use of deep-sea equipment in the area of the island of Bornholm," she said. Zakharova also stressed that the region was crammed with NATO infrastructure.

On Tuesday, the Nord Stream AG company reported that three threads of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 offshore gas pipelines had suffered unprecedented damage on Monday. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow was "deeply concerned about the news" and did not rule out that the pipelines’ operation could have been disrupted by an act of sabotage. Swedish seismologists later reported that two explosions had been recorded along the Nord Stream pipelines on Monday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen slammed the incidents as sabotage, pointing out that any deliberate disruption of the European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible response". On Thursday, the Swedish Coast Guard discovered another gas leak from the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines.

NATO tested underwater ‘equipment’ close to Nord Stream – Mosco (RT.com): In June, the military alliance experimented with unmanned subs near the island of Bornholm.

Should Europeans ‘Thank’ the Americans for Destroying Nord Stream? (Robert Bridge)