The lower house of Russian parliament has unanimously approved laws to absorb four Ukrainian regions.

The Kremlin says people in those territories will acquire Russian citizenship after taking an oath of loyalty. Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia held referenda last month to join Russia. Kiev's western allies called it a sham. While the Russian President Vladimir Putin says he won't rule out nuclear weapons to defend Russian land.

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