Ukraine: Moscow clings to annexation referendums despite international condemnations
Russian soldiers in Kherson in southern Ukraine, Friday, May 20, 2022. AP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Despite multiple international condemnations and ongoing battles, the administrative authorities of the regions conquered by Russia are maintaining the referendums for annexation to Russia scheduled for Friday.
Advertising
Read more
“
The vote starts tomorrow and nothing can prevent
it,” Vladimir Salo, the head of the occupation administration in the Kherson region, in the south of the country, warned Russian television.
In addition to the Kherson region, that of Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporijjia are affected by a referendum for annexation to
Russia
, the result of which, unsurprisingly, should lead to the annexation of these territories.
The referendums, described as "
simulacra
" by the international community, will take place over four days, despite the ongoing war.
The pro-Russian authorities in the Donetsk region have also specified that it will be done in front of homes during the first three days, the polling stations will only open on the last day of the election.
► To read also:
In Donetsk, the annexation referendums to Russia under Ukrainian military pressure
On the ground, the fighting continues as well as the firing of missiles.
In Zaporizhia, according to local authorities, nine missiles were fired by the Russian army, killing at least one person.
For their part, the separatists accused Ukraine of wanting to intimidate the population before the referendums by shooting at a market in Donetsk and causing an explosion in a market in Melitopol.
Charges dismissed by the Ukrainian authorities.
In his speech on Wednesday morning, Vladimir Putin threatened to use "
all necessary means
" to protect Russian territory, which could include the areas that will be annexed after these referendums.
Threats in which the Ukrainian president said he "
did not believe
" and which were strongly condemned by several heads of state
at the UN General Assembly,
including the American Joe Biden and the Frenchman Emmanuel Macron.
► To read also: Headlines: what if he was not bluffing? global press worried about Putin's nuclear threats
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Ukraine
Vladimir Poutine
Russia