The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said on Wednesday that the annexation “referendums” organized by Moscow in the Ukrainian regions were “illegal” and the results “manipulated.”
“This is a new violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in the context of systematic violations of human rights,” Borrell said in a message posted on the social network Twitter.
“We salute the courage of the Ukrainians who continue to oppose and resist the Russian invasion,” added the head of the European bloc’s diplomacy.
Pro-Russian authorities in the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia, Kherson and Lugansk on Tuesday claimed a “yes” victory for Russian annexation, with results still awaiting the results of the fourth Ukrainian region occupied by the Russian Federation.
According to the electoral authorities installed by Russia in the four regions, 93.11% of the citizens of Zaporizhia voted in favor of annexation to Russia, after counting 100% of the ballots.
In the Kherson region, the Moscow administration reported that 87.05% of voters voted “yes” to annexation, and all votes were also counted.
Shortly after, the Lugansk authorities also announced the victory of the “yes”, while the count continues in the fourth Ukrainian region where a “referendum” was also held, Donbass (east), despite the fact that the authorities had already announced that “Yes has largely prevailed.”
In 2014, Russia had already used the result of a referendum held under military occupation to legitimize the annexation of Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
Source: TSF
