UKRAINE Russia’s president Vladimir Putin is to sign on Friday the treaties on the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, the Kremlin announced. The leaders of the 4 breakaway regions travelled to Moscow on Wednesday night for the ceremony, after the illegal referendums organised by Russia and described by both Kyiv and Western capitals as „a sham.” Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is to hold an emergency meeting of top security and defence officials on Friday. The US announced plans, jointly with its allies and partners, to impose higher economic costs on Russia, while the European Commission proposed new sanctions. On the other hand, clashes continue to be reported in all the regions where the referendums were held, and several Ukrainian localities are being shelled. According to the Ukrainian defence ministry, the army focuses on regaining control over the entire Donetsk region.