Russian state news firm RIA claimed Tuesday that the first effects of a sham referendum in the occupied eastern and southern parts of Ukraine showed more than 96 percent in favor of Russia’s annexation, triggering what would almost lead to an illegal takeover of the territories by Russia. the continuation of the war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to soon claim that the 4 regions will be absorbed by Russia, according to the British Defense Ministry, and his announcement is likely to come in a speech to the Russian parliament on Friday.
The Russian armed forces do not fully dominate any of the regions Putin can annex, but the Russian president said in a speech this week that all features were on the table if “our territorial integrity is threatened,” adding the use of nuclear weapons.
There are fears in Russia that Putin could reclaim martial law after annexation to prevent a flood of fighting-age men from fleeing the country, after pointing to a “partial mobilization” of 300,000 reservists last week to serve as reinforcements in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said all diplomatic negotiations with Russia would end if Putin annexed Ukrainian lands.
Zelensky vowed that Ukrainian forces would continue fighting until the country regains all of its identified territories around the world, which include parts of eastern Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula that were taken by Russia or pro-Russian separatists 8 years ago.
RIA reported more than 96% aid for annexation in each of the 4 regions of Ukraine where positions were taken: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The referendums, overseen by Russian-backed separatists, took place between Friday and Tuesday, with 12% of polls counted, according to Russia. The vote was heavily criticized, with Ukrainian officials in the region reportedly saying the electorate had voted “under the barrel of a gun,” while Western officials called the referendums illegitimate and said Moscow had predetermined the results. Russian infantrymen in some spaces reportedly go door-to-door to hand over election forms, which citizens will have to fill out in the presence of infantrymen, while reports in the Kherson region imply that no effort was made to publicize the vote. The planned referendums come after a series of humiliating defeats for Putin’s forces in eastern Ukraine, with Russian troops ceding dozens of settlements to Ukraine in reaction to a Ukrainian counteroffensive this month.
Russia held a similar referendum in 2014 to call for the annexation of Crimea, claiming that just under 97% of the electorate was in favor of joining Russia. This referendum was also deemed illegitimate by foreign figures and Western countries.
Russia’s annexation of Ukraine would break diplomatic negotiations with Putin, says Zelensky (Forbes)
With Kalashnikov rifles, Russia leads the vote arranged in Ukraine (Washington Post)
Putin to claim annexation of Ukraine in days, UK says (Washington Post)