The first partial results of the 'referendums' held in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine show overwhelming majorities in favor of becoming part of Russia. It has been advanced by the Russian state news agency RIA, after some votes that Kyiv and the West have denounced as a farce.
Hastily organized votes have been held for five days in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson areas, which make up about 15% of Ukrainian territory.
For example, with 16% and 14% of the ballots counted in Donetsk and Lugansk, 98.05% and 97.79% of voters, respectively, have spoken in favor of incorporating those territories into Russia. .
For its part, in the Kherson region, with 12% scrutinized, 97.47% of the participants approved joining the Russian Federation, while in neighboring Zaporizhia, with 20% scrutinized, 98% approved their entry into Russia, according to the Interfax agency.
Russian-appointed officials carried ballot boxes from house to house in what Ukraine and the West said was an illegitimate coercive exercise intended to create a legal pretext for Russia to annex the four regions.
After hearing the first results of these 'referendums', Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov stated that "our legislators, our executive power bodies and our legal departments are ready" for Moscow to add these territories to Russia.
In parallel, a Russian parliamentary source quoted by the TASS agency has indicated that "it is most likely that the incorporation of these territories will be formalized by September 30."
For its part, Ukraine and practically the entire international community have denied any legitimacy to the consultations, held in territories controlled by the Russian army.
The UN, the European Union, the United States and many other countries have expressed their rejection of the 'referendums' and have announced that they will not recognize their results.
The kyiv government has made it clear that it will not accept its results and that it will not change its strategy on the battlefield, where Russia has suffered heavy defeats in the seven months of its military intervention in both the north and northeast of Ukraine.
"Ukraine has every right to liberate its territories and will continue to do so, regardless of what Russia says," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
