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Moscow was prepared to annex a large portion of Ukraine on Wednesday after what Kyiv and the West saw to be illegal sham referendums held under duress. Moscow released what it said were vote totals indicating support for joining Russia in four partially controlled districts.

A platform with enormous television displays and billboards reading "Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, - Russia!" has been erected on Moscow's Red Square.

Within a few days of endorsing the referendums, ordering a military mobilisation at home, and threatening to protect Russia with nuclear weapons if necessary, President Vladimir Putin could announce the annexation in a speech.

The four Ukrainian provinces' Russian-installed governments formally requested Putin's incorporation into Russia on Wednesday, which Russian authorities have claimed is merely a formality.