Russia's lower house approves annexation of four Ukrainian regions

The lower house of Russia's parliament approved laws on Monday on annexing four Ukrainian territories into Russia, following hastily organised votes that Ukraine and the West denounced as coercive and illegitimate.

No lawmakers in the State Duma voted against the resolutions, which were on incorporating Ukraine's Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions into Russia.