Putin is likely to formally announce the accession of the occupied Oblasts of Ukraine to Russia in his address to both houses of the Russian parliament scheduled on Friday 30 September, British intelligence reports.
"Russia’s leaders almost certainly hope that any accession announcement will be seen as a vindication of the ‘special military operation’ and will consolidate patriotic support for the conflict. This aspiration will likely be undermined by the increasing domestic awareness of Russia’s recent battlefield sets-backs and significant unease about the partial mobilisation announced last week," the report says.
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