The four controversial annexation referendums held in recent days in the eastern regions of Ukraine occupied by Russia ended with results favorable to the Moscow government, according to local officials.
These officials installed by the Kremlin ensured that support for annexation to Russia was the majority among those who participated in the voting.
A large part of the international community considers those referendums “fraudulent“ . The votes were not attended by independent observers.
The Ukrainian government and its allies denounced the referendums as “a farce”.
Votes were held in the eastern breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Votes were also held in two areas occupied by Russia during the current invasion: the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia.
Refugees scattered throughout Russia were also able to vote in dozens of polling stations, including in Crimea, a peninsula in southern Ukraine annexed by Russia in 2014. The partial results indicated huge majorities in favor of the annexation to Russia.
Up to four million people were called to vote in the regions devastated by the war, which represent about 15% of the territory of Ukraine.
The pro-Kremlin news agencies in Donetsk and Luhansk report that as of 675.23% of the population voted in favor of the annexation to Russia.
Experts have speculated that Russian President Vladimir Putin may announce the annexation from the four regions in a speech before a joint session of the Russian Parliament on Friday.
In 2014 , Moscow said Crimea had joined Russia just days after a referendum was held that was also not internationally recognized.
Dangerous scenario
If Russia annexes the four regions, which Moscow does not fully control, it could take the war to a new and more dangerous level, as Moscow describes any attempt by Ukraine to take them back as an attack on its territory .
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “brutally violating the UN statute” by trying to join territories by force.
“This farce in the occupied territories cannot even be called an imitation of referendums”, said the mart en.
The BBC’s correspondent in Ukraine, James Waterhouse, says that Russia is expected to draft new laws soon around the annexation of these four disputed territories, and has threatened to use more lethal weapons in the future.
“Ukraine The US and the West have discredited the process, and the BBC was exposed to evidence of armed soldiers collecting votes door-to-door, as well as claims that the vote simply did not take place in some places,” reported Waterhouse.
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