Referendums were held in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk; regions account for 15% of Ukrainian territory
Russia said in the early hours of Wednesday (28.Sep.2022) that the citizens of the 4 occupied regions in Ukraine voted for the annexation of their territories by Moscow. According to Russian officials, the results of the referendums ranged from 87% to 99.2%.
Voting started on Friday (September 23) and lasted until Tuesday night (September 27). They were held in Kherson (87.1% in favor of annexation)Zaporizhzhia (93.1%)Luhansk (98.4%) and Donetsk (99.2%). Together, the regions account for 15% of Ukrainian territory.
The president of the Russian Senate, Valentina Matvyenko, said that the annexation of the territories could be carried out as early as next Tuesday (4.Oct).
At the telegram, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, current vice president of the country’s Security Council and an ally of Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin, celebrated. “The results are clear. Welcome to Russia!“, he wrote.
According to Ukrainian officials, urns were taken from house to house in parts of the occupied regions. Ukraine and Western allies called the process illegitimate and coercive, saying the referendums would only serve to create a legal pretext for annexing the territories.
“This farce in the occupied territories cannot even be called an imitation of a referendum”, accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in video published on Tuesday night (September 27) on their social media profiles.
REACTIONS
The US will ask the UN Security Council not to recognize the referendums. They will also demand that Russia withdraw its troops from the neighboring country, according to US envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield. “Russia’s fake referendums, if accepted, will open a pandora’s box that we won’t be able to close,” he said at a board meeting.
Russia has the power to veto the resolution in the Security Council. Thomas-Greenfield said that if that happens, the matter will be referred to the UN General Assembly.
The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, said that the referendums were conducted transparently and in accordance with electoral rules. “This process will continue if Kiev does not recognize its mistakes and become guided by the interests of its own people.”, he warned.
According to Reutersthe US prepares a new round of sanctions against Moscow, in addition to sending a $1.1 billion package of weapons, ammunition and other war equipment to Ukraine.
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