Referendums for annexation by Russia began on Friday, September 23, in four regions of Ukraine controlled entirely or in part by Moscow, while kyiv claimed new advances by its army in the east of the country. 

These polls are described as "simulacra" by kyiv and the West and which, moreover, mark a major escalation of the conflict.

International criticism has not stopped Moscow from pursuing its plans for referendums in Ukraine.

The votes, which began at 5 a.m. GMT, will end on September 27 in the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk (east), and in areas under Russian occupation in the regions of Kherson and Zaporijjia (south).

The ballot, announced urgently this week against the backdrop of Ukrainian military successes, is notably by door-to-door, according to images from Russian media.

Authorities said it was a security measure.

Russian television repeatedly broadcast images of voters voting in mobile ballot boxes in halls or building courtyards.

Hundreds of polling stations must be opened in the four territories, and others in Russia to allow displaced people to vote.

"We hope that after the referendum, they will stop bombing us, that we will have peace and order," Vladimir Chotov, from the Luhansk region and who came to vote at the Donetsk representation, told AFP. in Moscow.

Without going so far as to denounce the polls, China, Moscow's closest partner, nevertheless went there with its criticism, calling for respect for territorial integrity.

Sign of this approach, a surprise meeting took place Friday in New York between the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kouleba.

Many Russians are fleeing their country

The polls were decided after the dazzling Ukrainian counter-offensive in early September, which allowed the resumption of the Kharkiv region in the northeast, and which kyiv wants to continue towards Luhansk, Donetsk and Kherson.

On Friday, Ukraine claimed the capture of Yatskivka on the eastern bank of the Oskil River in the Donetsk region (east), which seems to confirm the continued advance of kyiv forces.

She also says that she has advanced south of Bakhmout, an eastern town that the Russian army has been trying to take for months without success.

The hasty announcement of these elections was accompanied by that, on Wednesday, by Vladimir Putin to decree the immediate mobilization of at least 300,000 reservists.

He also threatened to use nuclear weapons.   

>> To read also: Ukraine: the Russian "partial mobilization", a phantom threat from Vladimir Putin

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On images broadcast on social networks and claiming to show the mobilization in a locality of Yakutia, in Siberia, men with closed faces kissed their relatives before boarding a bus.

In another video posted by the popular Telegram channel, Mash, a line of men can be seen standing in front of a troop transport plane on a tarmac at night.

Others were given a summons after being arrested during demonstrations against the mobilization on Wednesday.

"I was expecting the usual (procedures): the arrest, the police station, the court. But being told: 'Tomorrow you are going to war', (...) that was a surprise “, told AFP Mikhail Suetin, 29, who refused to sign the document.

The announcement of the mobilization also convinced many Russians to leave the country, without it being possible to quantify the extent of the phenomenon. 

Kazakhstan border guards reported an influx at the Russian-Kazakh border and assured that the situation "was under special control". 

A person interviewed by AFP on condition of anonymity said he queued eight hours to enter Kazakhstan, another twelve hours to reach Mongolia.

Finland has reported a doubling of entries at the Russian border since the announcement of the mobilization.

Friday evening, the country announced that it will take measures to limit "significantly" the entry of Russian citizens on its soil, after having already divided by ten the tourist visas granted.

With AFP

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