The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, will address his people for the first time with a speech. As international media reports, Putin will comment on the referendums to be held next weekend in Donetsk, Lugansk and Kherson regions and a part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. In these referendums, announced by the pro-Russian governors of the regions themselves, the citizens will be asked whether or not they want the annexation of the territories they live in with Russia.
According to some analysts, Putin's speech could serve precisely to announce a partial mobilization after the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is threatening new sanctions against Moscow in response to "illegal referendums" that violate Ukraine's "independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity in flagrant violation of international law." .