[ANALYSIS] Russian President Putin's speech on Friday

Analysis details (14:27)

OVERVIEW: Russia is expected to officially annex Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson on Friday. Deputies of the State Duma have been sent an invitation to the Kremlin on September 30th. The event will reportedly commence at 15:00 Moscow Times (13:00BST/08:00EDT) and will see a speech by Russian President Putin (exact timing unknown). A source via TASS suggested that the president is to address both houses of parliament on Friday - the meeting will focus on the results of the referendums. “There will be a speech that will determine the key tasks that we will have to solve in the near future”, TASS sources said.

MARKET FOCUS: The immediate market focus will likely be on any warnings to Ukraine and the West given the recent threats regarding nuclear weapon deployment from Russia and the risk aversion seen in the immediacy as a result. According to the FT, US and EU officials are privately concerned Russia could use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine and have warned Moscow about the consequences of using them. With Russia deeming the four Ukrainian regions as Russian territory, we are yet to see what actions (if any) Russia will take if Western weapons are utilised in these regions. US Secretary of State Blinken suggested the US does not object to Ukraine using weapons supplied by the Western powers to reclaim its territories, including the regions that underwent the referendums to join Russia.

REFERENDUMS: As expected, results from the referendums in the Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine showed an overwhelming majority in favour of joining Russian territory, with 96-98% of participants in each region backing the proposal, according to the Russian press.

WESTERN REACTION: The US, EU, UK, NATO and other large powers (ex-China) said they will not recognize any territories purportedly annexed following Russia’s “sham referenda.” The EU and the US are readying fresh sanctions on Russia over the annexation plans. A White House spokesperson said the measures would include penalties on individuals and entities, both inside and outside of Russia, that support the annexation. US Secretary of State Blinken stressed that the annexation of the Ukrainian regions would not create any changes for either the US or Ukraine in terms of perception of the situation.

29 Sep 2022 - 14:31- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk