The lower house of the Russian parliament approved the laws for the accession of the four occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia, after referendums that Ukraine and the West condemned as forced and illegitimate, reported Reuters.

Not a single member of the State Duma voted against the resolutions, which called for the Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia to be formally incorporated into Russia.

"The decision was made unanimously. There are 89 entities in the Russian Federation," the Speaker of the Parliament Vyacheslav Volodin announced on Telegram.

Speaking immediately after the vote, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov congratulated representatives from the four regions and said he was confident the upper house of parliament would approve the measures.

No opposition to the resolutions is expected in either the Duma or the Upper House, the Federation Council.

Russia began the formal process of annexing four Ukrainian territories last week, but none is fully under the control of its forces.