Europe

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia on Friday will formally annex parts of Ukraine where separation “referendums” received approval, the Kremlin’s spokesman said, confirming the expectations of Ukrainian and Western officials who have denounced the Moscow-managed votes as illegal, forced and rigged.

Four regions of Ukraine — Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — will be folded into Russia during a Kremlin ceremony attended by President Vladimir Putin, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

KHERSON, September 28. /TASS/: Head of the Kherson Region’s military-civilian administration Vladimir Saldo has asked President Vladimir Putin to accept the region into Russia, as Saldo himself wrote on Telegram on Wednesday.

KIEV, September 28. /TASS/: The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has accused 16 individuals of collaboration for organizing referendums in the DPR, the LPR, the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions on joining Russia.

The list includes DPR head Denis Pushilin, head of the Zaporozhye Region’s military-civilian administration Yevgeny Balitsky, head of the Kherson Region’s military-civilian administration Vladimir Saldo and his deputy Kirill Stremousov.

VLADIKAVKAZ, September 28. /TASS/: According to a decree issued by North Ossetian leader Sergey Menyailo on September 28 covering several parts of North Ossetia as well as the Vladikavkaz urban district, the republic has gone on high alert over the situation at the Verkhny Lars border checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border.

KEMEROVO, September 28. /TASS/: The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) may get its rights with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reinstated by the end of 2022, RUSADA Director General Veronika Loginova told TASS on Wednesday.

"We are waiting for reinstatement. We have already cleared the audit inspection and we are awaiting its results. We are complying with all the decisions as of December 17 [2020]. We are adhering to everything and hope for a positive outcome," Loginova specified.

MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/: US President Joe Biden should issue a reply as to whether the United States had carried out its threat over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

JOUTSA, Finland, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Finland has shut down a section of one of its main highways for five days for the first time in decades to allow its fighter jets to practice landings and take-offs on a reserve road runway.

The Nordic country, which is applying for NATO membership following neighbouring Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has a dozen similar reserve runways designed for wartime use around the country.

BRUSSELS, Sept 28 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday attributed the leaks on the Nord Stream pipelines to acts of sabotage and said he had discussed the protection of critical infrastructure in NATO countries with the Danish defence minister.

"Discussed the sabotage on the NorthStream pipelines with Defence Minister Morten Bødskov," he said on Twitter.

"We addressed the protection of critical infrastructure in NATO countries."

OSLO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Norway will deploy its military to protect its oil and gas installations against possible sabotage after several countries said two Russian pipelines to Europe spewing gas into the Baltic had been attacked, the prime minister said on Wednesday.

Gas leaks as a result of suspected sabotage discovered on the Nord Stream pipelines on Tuesday have roiled energy markets and heightened security concerns.

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The Bank of England stepped into Britain's bond market to stem a market rout, pledging to buy around 65 billion pounds ($69 billion) of long-dated gilts after the new government's tax cut plans triggered the biggest sell-off in decades.

Citing potential risks to the stability of the financial system, the BoE also delayed on Wednesday the start of a programme to sell down its 838 billion pounds ($891 billion) of government bond holdings, which had been due to begin next week.