"President Vladimir Putin has signed treaties on the inclusion of four former Ukrainian regions, into the Russian Federation. Friday’s ceremony marked the start of the formal process of their accession.Heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, as well as the leaders of Kherson and Zaporozhye, Vladimir Saldo and Evgeny Balitsky, signed the documents together with Putin.

The move follows official requests by the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the two southern Ukrainian regions, which had declared independence, to join Russia. All four territories held referendums on the issue between September 23 and 27, which saw overwhelming support for the move, according to results announced earlier this week by local election committees." - RT News

https://www.rt.com/russia/563736-donbass-republics-join-russia/