The United Nations Security Council is set to vote on Friday on a draft resolution condemning the referendums held in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, Russian media outlet RIA reported, citing UN Security Council sources.
The draft resolution, put forward by the US and Albania, will reportedly be voted on at 10 p.m. (3 p.m. EST). Afterward, the UN Security Council will meet to discuss the situation regarding the Nord Stream pipeline, per Russia's request, according to RIA.
What referendums are being held in Russian-occupied Ukraine?
The referendums in question were held in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts in Ukraine on the subject of having them join the Russian Federation. The former two have been mostly controlled by Russian-backed separatist movements and have declared independence as the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, whose independence is only recognized thus far by Russia. The Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts were largely taken control of by Russian forces during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
However, it is important to note that Russia does not have full control of all the territory in these oblasts, especially Zaporizhzhia, where the capital city of the same name and most of the oblast's population are still in Ukrainian hands.
Russia is reportedly set to accept the results of the referendum sometime Friday, but referendums have been the subject of considerable international backlash with the international community overwhelmingly stating their refusal to recognize them as valid.
This is a developing story.