"Ukrainians In Breakaway States Vote To Join Russia" - Election Officials

According to election officials installed by Russia, 93% of votes cast in the Zaporizhzhia region supported annexation, as did 87% in the Kherson region, 98% in Luhansk and 99% in Donetsk

Dismissing the results in a video posted on Telegram, Ukraine’s President Zelensky said: “This farce in the occupied territory cannot even be called an imitation of referendums”

Earlier he told the United Nations that Ukraine would not be able to negotiate with Russia after the votes. People are forced to fill out some papers for a TV picture under the muzzles of machineguns.

The referendums began last Friday, often with armed officials going door to door collecting votes. The ballots asked residents whether they wanted the areas to be incorporated into Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev, a former president who serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and an ally of President Vladimir Putin, said on Telegram:

The results are clear. Welcome home, to Russia!

President Putin is expected to address Russia’s parliament about the referendums on Friday, and officials said MPs could consider annexation legislation on October 4.

Last week Friday 23 September 2022, United States of America’s President Joe Biden warned Russia there will be “swift and severe” costs if Moscow uses “sham” referendums to annex more of Ukraine.

The vote was announced earlier last week after a Ukrainian counteroffensive seized most of the northeastern Kharkiv region, bringing hundreds of settlements back under Kyiv’s control after months of Russian occupation.

The four regions’ integration into Russia would represent a major escalation of the conflict as Moscow would consider any military move there as an attack on its own territory.

The referendums are reminiscent of the one held after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014.

Observers say President Putin is not just enlarging the borders of Russia, “he is daring and baiting NATO for conflict.”

Some say any attack on the new territories now part of Russia amount to a causa belli – an event or action that justifies or allegedly justifies a war or conflict.

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