Russia said on Friday that it would consider attacks against any part of Ukraine its forces were about to annex as hostile acts against Moscow itself.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that his country would annex "by law" parts of Ukraine that are not under the control of Russian forces as part of its moves to annex 4 regions in Ukraine.
Russia is heading to annex the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions in Ukraine, after holding referendums in these regions, "where the population overwhelmingly chose to join Moscow."
Later today, Putin is expected to sign a decision to formally annex these regions to Russia.
In contrast, Western governments and Kiev said the vote violated international law.
In the same context, the pro-Russian Kherson authorities said that all residents of the region will receive Russian passports for the next three years.
She explained that the transitional period for the incorporation of Kherson in Russia will be at least 3 years.