The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said on Wednesday that the annexation referendums organized by Moscow in Ukraine’s regions were “illegal” and the results “manipulated”.
“This is another violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, in the context of systematic violations of human rights,” Borrell said in a message broadcast on the social network Twitter.
“We salute the courage of the Ukrainians who continue to resist and resist the Russian invasion,” added the European bloc’s head of diplomacy.
EU denounces holding illegal “referendums” and their falsified outcome.
This is another violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, amid systematic violations of human rights.
We commend the courage of the Ukrainians, who continue to resist and resist the Russian invasion.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) September 28, 2022
Pro-Russian authorities in Ukraine’s regions of Zaporijia, Kherson and Lugansk on Tuesday demanded a “yes” victory to Russia’s annexation, with results awaiting the results of the fourth Ukrainian region occupied by the Russian Federation.
According to the election authorities installed by Russia in the four regions, 93.11% of the citizens of Zaporijia voted for annexation to Russia, after counting 100% of the ballots.
In the Kherson region, the Moscow government reported that 87.05% of voters voted “yes” to annexation, also counting all votes.
Shortly afterwards, the authorities in Lugansk also announced the victory of the “yes”, while the census in the fourth Ukrainian region where a “referendum” was also held, the Donbass (east), continues, despite the authorities already announcing that “the yes, it has largely triumphed”.
In 2014, Russia had already used the outcome of a referendum under military occupation to legitimize the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula into the Black Sea.
Source: DN
