After all, on the last day of the mock referendums in the Russian-occupied Ukraine, the residents should also be allowed to vote in “polling stations”. The result of the pseudo vote should have been certain for a long time. The authorities in Luhansk are reporting attacks, and large parts of Cherson are cordoned off.
In four Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, the sham referendums on annexation by Russia ended this Tuesday. On the last day of the “voting”, which violates international law, “polling stations” are to be opened in the Russian-occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass and in the southern Ukrainian regions of Cherson and Zaporizhia. So far, officials from the occupiers, often accompanied by armed soldiers, have only gone from door to door to force the residents of the region to vote.
The sham referendums are a breach of international law. They are not recognized worldwide because they are held in violation of Ukrainian and international laws and without minimum democratic standards. A large part of the Ukrainian population has fled the Russian-occupied and contested areas.
In the Luhansk region, the authorities reported renewed fire from multiple rocket launchers on the town of Alchevsk. Nevertheless, all “polling stations” are open, it said. In the southern Ukrainian region of Cherson, parts of Russia have apparently been cordoned off. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that Russian troops had “completely closed” the occupied parts of the region to entry and exit. The Ukrainian government had previously asked residents to leave the region and get to safety because of the Ukrainian counter-offensive.
For days now, Russian state television has been showing people in the occupied territories who are happy that they will soon be part of Russia. Independent media, on the other hand, criticize that people have to vote under pressure and at gunpoint.
The occupation authorities will presumably provide information about the outcome of the mock referendums in the evening. Approval for joining the Russian Federation is expected to be between 80 and 90 percent. After that, the so-called separatist leaderships, which are under Russian control, want to officially apply to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin for admission to Russian territory. The Kremlin had indicated that this could happen quickly. Putin could address the nation in a speech this Friday. The Kremlin has not yet confirmed the date.
Before the start of the sham referendum, President Putin had emphasized that the areas would then be completely under the protection of the nuclear power Russia. He warned Ukraine that if the shelling of the areas continued, Moscow would consider it an attack on Russian territory and would defend itself with all available means.
According to estimates by British secret services, the Russian leadership wants to use the expected annexation of the Ukrainian territories to justify the war of aggression in front of its own people. Any announcement of annexation of the territories will serve to justify Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine and is intended to cement patriotic support for the conflict, said a briefing by the UK Defense Ministry.
