Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists Saturday that the regions of Ukraine where referendums are held would be under Russia's "full protection" if annexed by Moscow.

Addressing the UN General Assembly and the world media in New York, Lavrov attempted to justify Russia's invasion of neighboring territory, Ukraine, by repeating Moscow's claims that the elected government in Kiev was illegitimately installed and full of neo-Nazis.

Asked whether Russia would have reason to use nuclear weapons to defend the annexed regions, Lavrov said that Russian territory, including the territory "most enshrined" in the Russian constitution in the future, "is under the full protection of the state."

Referendums in four regions of eastern Ukraine, intended to annex territory that Russia has taken by force since its invasion in February, entered their third day this Sunday, and the Russian parliament could move to formalize the annexation within days.

Ukraine and its Western allies have dismissed the referenda as a sham designed to justify an escalation of the war and a mobilization effort by Moscow after recent battlefield losses.

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered Russia's first military mobilization since World War II, a move that sparked protests across the country and sent groups of military-age men on the run, causing border setbacks and sold-out flights from the country.

Russia's two top lawmakers on Sunday addressed a series of complaints about the mobilization, ordering regional officials to address the situation and quickly resolve the "excesses" that have fueled public anger.