The Speaker of the Russian Parliament, Viacheslav Volodin, this Friday justified the referenda on integration with Russia taking place in Ukrainian regions with the right to self-determination of peoples as enshrined in the United Nations Charter.
Residents of the affected areas of Ukraine “have the right to self-determination enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations”said Volodin in a post on the social network Telegram.
Volodin referred to the peoples of Donetsk and Lugansk, in Donbass, and of Kherson and Zaporijia, partly under Russian control, where consultations on integration into Russia began this Friday, in referendums deemed illegal by Ukraine and the international community.
“The European Union [UE] posed a new threat to our country in connection with the referenda. We are aware of our decisions and nothing scares us”, Volodin said, quoted by the Spanish agency Europa Press. According to the Russian leader, “for eight years the EU has not noticed the genocide against the people of Donbass and has not thought about their safety”.
The EU “supported the Kiev regime, which shot civilians daily. The elderly, women and children died,” Volodin said, referring to the war in Donbass, which started in 2014 with support from Moscow by separatist forces.
In addition to the war in Donbass, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 resulted in the annexation of Crimea, even after a referendum under military occupation that was not recognized by the international community.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, when he announced a partial mobilization for the war in Ukraine, that Russia will support the decision that “will be taken by the majority of residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the Zaporijia regions.” and Kherson”. Putin also warned that Moscow could use “all means” in the event of a “threat to Russia’s territorial integrity”, including nuclear weapons.
As in the case of Crimea, the ongoing referendums will allow Moscow to legitimize the annexation of parts of Ukraine and believe that any attempt by Kiev to recapture it will threaten Russia’s territorial integrity.
Voting started this Friday and will run until September 27.
Pro-Russian officials in Kherson said they expected 750,000 people to vote, while in Zaporijia 500,000 people are registered to vote, according to Russia’s TASS news agency. In both cases, the participants are asked to answer a question: “Are you in favor of the region leaving Ukraine, creating an independent state and becoming part of Russia?”.
In the case of Donetsk and Lugansk, whose independence was recognized by Putin just days before he ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24 this year, voters will be asked whether they “support the republic’s accession to Russia if a constituent entity of the Russian Federation”.
A pro-Russian leader from Lugansk told Rossiya-24 television on Friday that foreign election observers would follow the referendum in that region of Donbass, without specifying nationality.
“We have foreign observers, they are already in the territory of the Lugansk People’s Republic, they are now undergoing the accreditation process and will begin their duties after receiving a certificate”said Elena Kravchenko.
On Thursday, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) called on all states to reject attempts at “territorial conquest” by Russia and emphasized that Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporijia are part of Ukraine.
Source: DN
