Status: 09/27/2022 11:28 p.m
According to Russia, in the so-called referendums, the clear majority voted for an annexation. Approval is said to have been great in the occupied regions of Zaporizhia, Cherson and Luhansk.
Moscow reports a high level of support for the completed “referendums” in occupied parts of Ukraine on joining Russia. After counting all the votes, more than 98 percent of voters in Luhansk, more than 93 percent in Zaporizhia, and more than 87 percent in Cherson voted for annexation to Russia, the occupation administrations said. It is “clear” that Luhansk will return to the bosom of Russia, said Leonid Pasechnik, leader of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic on the online platform Telegram.
After the end of the sham referendums in occupied territories: Russia sees a large majority for annexation
Ina Ruck, ARD Moscow, daily news at 8:00 p.m., September 27, 2022
Supposedly also high approval in Donetsk
The Russian news agency Tass reports that in Donetsk, out of 32 percent of the ballot papers counted, almost 94 percent voted “yes”. The four regions in which the referendums, which were criticized as sham votes, took place, together make up about 15 percent of Ukrainian territory.
Referendums in Luhansk and Kherson and parts of Donetsk and Zaporizhia began on September 23. Soldiers often went door to door collecting signatures. Residents were asked if they were in favor of annexing their region to Russia.
Annexation law possibly soon
Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to address the Russian parliament on Friday about the referenda. Speaker of Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko said MPs could discuss a law annexing Ukraine’s territories next Tuesday. Before the start of the sham referendums, Putin had emphasized that the areas would then be completely under the protection of the nuclear power Russia.
UN and NATO warn against joining
Regardless of the outcome, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the affected areas of his country would be recaptured. “This farce in the occupied territories cannot even be described as an imitation of referendums,” Zelenskyy said in his video address to the UN Security Council. “We move forward and liberate our country!” The United Nations, meanwhile, reiterated it remains “committed” to Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” within its “recognized” borders.
NATO warned Russia against annexing four Ukrainian territories: “These territories belong to Ukraine,” Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg clarified on Twitter after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “The NATO allies support Ukraine’s sovereignty and its right to self-defense without ifs or buts.”