The UK Department of Defense announced in its daily intelligence assessment of the war in Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin could use his scheduled speech on Friday to formally announce the incorporation of Ukraine’s occupied territories into the Russian Federation.

“On Friday, September 30, President Putin is scheduled to address the Russian parliament, and he can use his speech to officially announce the accession of Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporozhye to the Russian Federation,” the ministry added.

Since last Friday, self-determination referendums on joining the Russian Federation have been held in these regions.

And she added: “Russian leaders almost certainly hope that any declaration of accession will be seen as justifying a special military operation and bolstering national support for the conflict.”