Referendum begins in Russian-occupied areas

Kyiv, September 23

Russia began referendums on Friday aimed at annexing four occupied regions of Ukraine, raising the stakes of the seven-month-old war in what Kyiv called an illegal sham that saw residents threatened with punishment if they did not vote.

The votes on whether the regions should become part of Russia began after Ukraine earlier this month recaptured large swathes of north-eastern territory in a counteroffensive against the invasion that began on February 24.

We’re coming home!

Voting has started in the referendum on Zaporizhzhia region becoming a part of Russia as a constituent entity of the Russian Federation! We are coming home! —Vladimir Rogov, an official in the region’s russian-installed administration

Not acceptable!

The referendums will give Moscow no upper hand. It’s all nonsense, bluff and political manipulation to frighten us and the Western countries with their nuclear stuff. —Oleksandr Yaroshenko, kyiv resident

With Russian President also announcing a military draft this week to enlist 3,00,000 troops to fight in Ukraine, the Kremlin appears to be trying to regain the upper hand.

By incorporating the four areas into Russia, Moscow could portray attacks to retake them as an attack on Russia itself, a warning to Kyiv and Western supporters.

Putin on Wednesday said: “Russia will use all means at our disposal to protect itself”, an allusion to nuclear weapons. The war has already killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted millions and pummelled the global economy. The referendums had been discussed for months by Moscow-installed authorities in the four regions — in Ukraine’s east and southeast — but Kyiv’s recent battlefield victories prompted a scramble to schedule them.

Voting in the provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, representing about 15% of Ukrainian territory, is due to run from Friday to Tuesday. The referendums have been condemned by Ukraine, Western leaders and the UN as an illegitimate, choreographed precursor to illegal annexation. — Reuters