Tag Referendums

Last day of Russia’s annexation referendums in occupied Ukraine begins amid shelling

Referendums

Kiev, Sept. 27, 2022 (dpa/NAN) The last day of Russia’s widely criticised annexation referendums began in occupied parts of Ukraine on Tuesday with the authorities again reporting shelling by multiple rocket launchers on the town of Alchevsk in the Luhansk region.

People in the parts of the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya occupied by Russian troops still have until 4 p.m. (1300 GMT) to cast their votes on joining the Russian Federation.

These referendums have been widely condemned as breaching international law.

They were not recognised worldwide because they were held in violation of Ukrainian and international laws and without minimum democratic standards.

Nevertheless, all polling stations are open, the authorities said.

For days, Russian state television has been showing people in the occupied territories expressing happiness that they will soon be part of Russia.

In contrast, independent media have pointed out that people were voting under pressure and at gunpoint.

The occupation authorities were expected to deliver the outcome of the referendums as soon as Tuesday evening.

The vote in favour of joining the Russian Federation is expected to be 80 to 90 per cent.

After that, the separatist leaders intend to officially apply to Russian President Vladimir Putin for admission to Russian territory.

The Kremlin had indicated that this could happen quickly.

Observers have said the votes have been hastily organised in light of recent successes by the Ukrainian military in taking back occupied territory from the Russians.

Putin ordered the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of reservists on Wednesday.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said in his nightly address on Monday that Russia’s partial mobilisation would only serve to delay the moment of its own defeat.

Since the announcement of the mobilisation, the population has reacted with horror in many places in Russia.

There were protests all over the country. There have also been repeated attacks on conscription centres.

“They have felt that they will lose. And they are simply trying to delay this moment in order to have at least some activity on the front lines.

“Unfortunately, the Russian people are not yet aware of all the brutality of the Russian government against its own people,’’ Zelensky said.

He said this must be made clear to the Russians.

Putin is expected to address the nation regarding the votes in a speech this Friday.

The Kremlin has not yet confirmed the date.

Putin had stressed before the start of the referendums that the territories would thereafter be completely under the protection of Russia and its nuclear arsenal.

He warned Ukraine that if the shelling of the territories continued, Moscow would consider it an attack on Russian territory and would defend itself with all available means.

According to British intelligence, the Russian leadership wants to use the expected annexation to justify the war to its own population.

Any announcement of an annexation of the territories would serve to justify Russia’s “special military operation’’ in Ukraine.

It’s intended to consolidate patriotic support for the conflict, a brief report from the British Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.

British intelligence suggests that the Russians would not be as supportive of Putin’s plans as he had hoped.

The partial mobilisation, as well as increasing knowledge of the setbacks in Ukraine, were likely to cloud approval significantly, they said. (dpa/NAN)

(www.nannews.ng)

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(Edited by Cecilia Odey/Emmanuel Yashim)

Referendums
Kiev, Sept. 23, 2022 (dpa/NAN) In the Russian-occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine, referendums on the region’s accession to the Russian Federation began on Friday.

Separatist leader Denis Pushilin in the Russian-recognised Donetsk People’s Republic spoke of a historic day.

“This referendum is decisive, it is the breakthrough into a new reality,’’ he said in a video posted on the Telegram news channel.

The regions also announced the start of voting.

A similar referendum was also scheduled in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson.

Hundreds of thousands of people have until Sept. 27 to cast their votes.

The Luhansk region announced that citizens who had fled to Russia could also vote there.

In the Zaporizhzhya region, voting is taking place only in the parts controlled by Russian troops. The regional capital itself is controlled by Ukraine.

The ballot started without any disturbances, said Galina Katyushchenko, the election director there.

Voting will take place outdoors for the time being for security reasons.

Russia wants to use the result to annex the territories and has invoked the right of self-determination of peoples.

Neither Ukraine nor the international community recognises the voting under Russia as the occupying power.

They are not considered to be legitimate referendums because they are being held without Ukraine’s consent under martial law and not according to democratic principles; nor is it possible for international independent observers to work freely.

The result in Russia’s favour is thought to be a foregone conclusion.

Russia used a similar referendum to legitimise its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

“We are coming back home. This is not only a gain for the people of Donbas, but also for Russia, which will then grow. The Donbas is Russia. Pushilin said.

The majority of Russian-speaking provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk together make up the Donbas region in the far east of Ukraine on Russia’s border.

The Ukrainian army is now putting pressure on the Russian occupiers in areas Moscow sees as crucial to its war aims.

This is according to British intelligence experts in their daily intelligence update published by the Ministry of Defence in London on Friday.

The update, as part of their counteroffensive, the Ukrainians have established bridgeheads on the eastern bank of the Oskil River in the province of Kharkiv in north-eastern Ukraine.

The Russians had previously tried to integrate the river into a fortified defensive line to which they withdrew after recent territorial losses, the British experts added.

According to the British, slightly further south in Donetsk, fighting continues in Ukrainian attacks on the town of Lyman on the east bank of the Siversky Donets River, which Russia’s invading forces captured in May. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Cecilia Odey/Grace Yussuf