The representatives of all the regions also attended the plenary session of the State Duma and witnessed the process of ratification…reports Asian Lite news
Members of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, voted unanimously in favour of legislation to annex four regions of Ukraine, on Monday.
The lawmakers all voted to incorporate Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia with no abstentions or votes against the annexation, its website showed.
The representatives of all the regions also attended the plenary session of the State Duma and witnessed the process of ratification.
The documents on ratification were presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov. “The process is a logical continuation of the reunification of Russian lands, which began with the accession of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to Russia in 2014,” he said.
According to the provisions of the federal constitutional draft laws, there will be an interim period starting from the day when the regions became the parts of Russia till January 1, 2026.
Until June 1, 2023, federal executive bodies will open the representative offices in the new republics and regions. During the interim period, there also will be established prosecutorial bodies and will be implemented Russian judicial system. Within six months it is necessary to form city and municipal districts in the regions, to define the boundaries of municipalities.
The ruble will be the currency of the territories of the new entities. The Ukrainian hryvnia will be used there until December 31, 2022. The Bank of Russia will be empowered to establish the specifics of the activities of credit and non-credit financial institutions.
Russian nuke train on the move?
Footage of a huge freight train moving specialist military equipment associated with a nuclear-arms wielding division of Russia’s Defence Ministry has been spotted on the move, prompting fears of an escalation in the conflict from President Vladimir Putin’s forces, the media reported.
A series of BPM-97 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and other military vehicles were seen travelling through central Russia in a clip posted on the Telegram messaging app by pro-Russian channel Rybar on Sunday, Daily Mail reported.
The APCs are thought to have been upgraded with more capable turrets, reinforced ambush and mine-proof armour and an air purification system designed to allow its occupants to operate effectively in the face of sustained infantry attacks.
Such advanced military hardware, the likes of which have scarcely been deployed on the frontlines in Ukraine, reportedly belong to the 12th Main Directorate of the Russian MoD.
This specialist division is dedicated to the storage, maintenance and provision of weapons to the likes of the Strategic Rocket Forces, a Russian military branch that controls nuclear missiles and forms a key part of Putin’s nuclear programme, Daily Mail reported.
Military analyst Konrad Musyka claimed the deployment of such units could signal a coming escalation in the conflict from the warmongering Russian president or constitute a precursor to large scale nuclear drills.
It comes as NATO warned member states that Russia’s state-of-the-art Belgorod nuclear submarine has left its White Sea base, while key Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov said Russia’s military should use ‘low-yield nuclear weapons’ to turn the tide of the war in Ukraine, Daily Mail reported.
Muzyka said the movement of heavy military hardware belonging to nuke-wielding units does not necessarily mean that Russia is preparing to deploy a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.
But he did suggest it could be a ‘signal to the West that Moscow is escalating’ the conflict, adding that Russia’s Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN) are known to undergo extensive training drills in autumn.
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