Referendums on the accession of the Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporijia and Kherson to the Russian Federation will begin this Friday and will run until September 27, the pro-Russian authorities in those regions have said.
The parliaments of the self-declared Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, recognized by the Kremlin on February 21, convened a referendum on integration in Russia between this Friday and September 27, in which the Kherson and Zaporijia regions, partly under Russian domain, participated. .
The official announcement of the holding of this popular consultation for the annexation of Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation was made in a speech to the nation delivered on Wednesday by Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with the mobilization of 300,000 Russian reservists to serve in Ukraine. fighting and a veiled threat of using nuclear weapons against the West.
Immediately there was criticism from Western countries and international organizations of Putin’s speech, which they labeled as another attempt to escalate the conflict by the Russian head of state.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also commented on such statements, saying he was “deeply concerned” about Moscow’s plans to hold referendums on the accession of the occupied Ukrainian territories to the Russian Federation.
At a Security Council meeting on Wednesday, Guterres stressed that “any annexation of the territory of one state by another state as a result of the threat or use of force is a violation of the UN Charter and international law.”
The Serbian member of the Bosnian presidency, Milorad Dodik, declared in Moscow that he would be willing to send observers to the referendum in the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, in eastern Ukraine, for their integration with Russia, according to the Bosnian press.
The nationalist leader of the Bosnian Serbs, quoted by the Klix portal, considered the referendums an autonomous decision of the citizens, despite taking place in a war scenario and without guarantees.
The convening of these plebiscites in the territories occupied by Russian armed forces follows the Russia-accession referendum held by the Russian-speaking authorities in Crimea in 2014, the result of which legitimized the annexation of the peninsula by Moscow.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on Feb. 24 has already resulted in more than 13 million people fleeing — more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.4 million to European countries — according to the most recent UN data, which rank this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Putin with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and imposing political and political sanctions. submit to Russia.
The UN presented 5,916 dead civilians and 8,616 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, stressing that these numbers are far below the actual number.
Source: DN
