Four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine have reported large majorities of votes in favor of joining the Kremlin in a referendum the West has labeled a sham.
The hastily arranged vote took place over five days in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south. It makes up about 15% of the territory of Ukraine.
Total votes from Tuesday's complete results in those regions ranged from 87% to 99.2% in favor of joining Russia.
The head of Russia's upper house of parliament said the chamber might consider sequestration on October 4.
"The decision is clear. Welcome home, to Russia!,” Dmitry Medvedev, a former president who serves as deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council said on Telegram.
In the occupied territories, Russian officials took ballot boxes from house to house, an act that Ukraine and the West say is illegal.
The United States will introduce a resolution at the UN Security Council calling on member states not to recognize any changes on Ukraine and obliging Russia to withdraw its troops.
If Russia annexes four Ukrainian regions, President Vladimir Putin could portray any Ukrainian attempt to recapture them as an attack on Moscow itself.
Putin said last week he was willing to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia's "territorial integrity".
