Russia has sought to defend its seven-month-old war in Ukraine, with Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov telling the United Nations that regions of Ukraine where widely criticized referendums are being held would get Russia’s “full protection” if annexed by Moscow.

The votes in four Eastern Ukrainian regions, aimed at annexing territory Russia has taken by force since its invasion in February, were staged for a third day on Sunday. The Russian parliament could move to formalize the annexation within days.

By incorporating the four areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia into Russia, Moscow could portray attacks to retake them as an