The pro-Russian leaders of these territories formally request their accession to Moscow
Russian diplomacy affirmed on Wednesday that the four Ukrainian regions under Moscow’s control made “a free election in favor of Russia”, by voting for its annexation in referendums qualified by kyiv and a large part of the international community of illegitimates. “The results of this plebiscite speak for themselves: the inhabitants of Donbas, Kherson and Zaporizhia do not want to return to their former lives, and have made a conscious and free choice in favor of Russia,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Foreign in a statement.
In all these regions, which make up approximately 15% of the Ukrainian territory, the ‘yes’ to joining the Russian Federation was close to 100%. However, kyiv has denounced pressure from Russian troops for neighbors to support the annexation, as well as numerous irregularities. Even the UN has certified that the military took the ballot boxes from house to house to ensure a favorable result.
This has not prevented the pro-Russian authorities of the occupied territories from formalizing the request for their accession to the Kremlin. This has been done by the leader of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (PLR), Leonid Pasechnik, as well as Vladimir Saldo, head of the Kherson civil-military administration.
“Dear Vladimir, I am writing to you on behalf of the people of the Lugansk region. Taking into account the approval obtained through the referendum, I ask you to consider the possibility of adding the territory to Russia as part of the Federation, “Pasechnik said in a letter, according to information from the Lugansk 24 television network.
Thus, he has assured that the inhabitants of the area have been victims of brutal bombings and of the “genocide perpetrated by kyiv for eight years. Residents of Lugansk have been the target of attacks. In unsuccessful attempts to take over the territory, the neo-Nazis have only increased terror by bombing civil and industrial infrastructure and destroying schools, hospitals and nurseries,” he said, before recalling that “not a single international organization has condemned kyiv’s actions. in the Donbas.
For his part, Saldo has highlighted that more than 87% of the voters have advocated for the annexation “with their historic land” and have highlighted that the consultation has been carried out in accordance with the general principles and norms of International Law.
The head of the military-civilian administration of Zaporizhia, Yevgeni Balitski, has sent a similar proposal to Putin, according to information from the Interfax news agency, which has had access to the document.
However, the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, has assured that the participation in the occupied areas of Zaporizhia has been 0.5%, a figure that contrasts markedly with those given by the pro-Russian authorities.
Fedorov has pointed out that “no civilized state” can recognize this vote and has announced that the Ukrainian state will continue to pay the pensions and salaries of public sector workers in the occupied territories, as he stated in a Telegram message.
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