Referendums on the accession of 4 Ukrainian regions controlled by Russian forces and separatists to the Russian Federation entered its third day, and the pro-Moscow authorities announced the results of the vote in the past two days, while Kyiv requested an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, regarding the referendums, which it described as illegal.

The pro-Russian election commission in the Donetsk region (southeast of Ukraine) said that the turnout in the referendum exceeded 55 percent within two days, while the authorities of the Donetsk region (southeast) said that about 236,000 people voted in the referendum to join Russia.

In the Zaporozhye Province (southeast), Russian media said that 93% of those who voted in the province during the first day supported joining the Russian Federation.

The authorities of Lugansk (southeast) said that the voter turnout in the areas they control exceeded 45%.

Russian forces and the separatist forces they support do not control the entire territory of the four Ukrainian provinces, as the battles continue in Donetsk and Zaporozhye, as well as on the outskirts of Kherson Province (southwest).

Referendums to join Russia began on Friday, and voting will continue for five days until the day after tomorrow, Tuesday.

For security reasons, voting takes place during the first four days in homes, and only on the last day will it take place at polling stations.


next steps

The Kremlin said that if a positive decision is taken in the referendums in the four regions, actions by the parliament and the Russian president will follow.

Earlier, the TASS news agency, quoting a Russian source, said that by September 30, Moscow could complete the procedures for annexing the four regions, and that the State Duma (parliament) could study bills next Thursday to annex the four Ukrainian regions completely controlled by Russia. or partially.

Interfax news agency quoted a source as saying that the Federation Council (upper chamber) of the Russian parliament may consider a bill on the incorporation of the regions it controls in Ukraine on the same day the Duma (lower chamber) discusses the bill.

The RIA news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying that President Vladimir Putin is likely preparing to deliver an official speech before a joint extraordinary session of both houses of parliament next Friday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said - at a press conference in New York on Saturday - that referendums in the Donbass region (which includes Donetsk and Luhansk), Zaporizhia and Kherson, are carried out according to the rules of local governments, and that Moscow will absolutely respect their results.

Lavrov added that the areas where referendums are being held will be under the "full protection" of Russia if Moscow annexes them, amid fears that Russia may further escalate the conflict until the use of nuclear weapons.

Security Council

Yesterday, Saturday, the Ukrainian mission to the United Nations demanded that an emergency session be held in the UN Security Council, on Tuesday, to discuss referendums organized by the pro-Russian authorities in part of the Ukrainian territory.

Kyiv requests an emergency plenary session of the UN Security Council to discuss the referendums held by Russia on the territory of Ukraine (French)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the referendums to annex the Ukrainian regions to Russia illegal, and said that there will be actual condemnation of them.

He stressed that his forces would respond to any Russian attack in all regions, and that they would completely liberate the country, as he put it.

Washington and the European Union have threatened to impose more sanctions on Russia in the event that it annexes the areas where the referendums are being held, which the West described as fictitious, and as an escalation of the Russian war on Ukraine, which has been going on for seven months.

Kyiv says residents are being forced to vote and are not allowed to leave regions during the polls.

In the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the displaced residents of the city of Mariupol (in the Zaporozhye region) protested against the referendum being held in their city, and in Ukrainian regions under the control of the Russian side.

The protesters raised slogans denouncing the holding of the referendum, and expressed their rejection of it and its results, and considered it contrary to all norms and laws. They stressed that Mariupol is Ukrainian and does not need any referendum, accusing the Russian forces of imposing this procedure on the city's residents.

Field Developments

On the field level, Al-Jazeera correspondent in Ukraine reported that the Russian bombardment continued on the cities of Slaviansk and Kramatorsk in the Donbass region during the night hours, and the cities of Bakhmut and Soledar witnessed a renewal of military operations in their surroundings.

And field sources reported that the Ukrainian army made new progress on Saturday in the Lyman front (Donetsk region), after taking control of two additional towns, Nova and Novosilivka.

The Ukrainian army said that it managed to target an ammunition depot for Russian forces, and to shoot down a Su-30 aircraft in Donetsk province.

Ten months ago, in WDC, I asked for Stingers 4 #UAarmy & heard "It's impossible."


Many times.


Today, rus Su-30 jet was shot down by 🇺🇦 Stinger in the Kharkiv region.


So…the impossible is indeed possible.


Thanks to our partners.


We will win!

🇺🇦


🎵 Горить, “Палає техніка ворожа” pic.twitter.com/c1NtHcqlsD

— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) September 24, 2022

And Russian media reported that the pro-Russian former member of the Ukrainian parliament, Alexei Zhuravko, was killed, along with his bodyguard, in a Ukrainian missile attack on a hotel in the city center of Kherson.

Russian media broadcast pictures of the hotel where Russian journalists were also staying, some of whom were slightly injured as a result of the bombing, which they said was carried out by American Hirmas missiles.

Meanwhile, the pro-Russian authorities in Zaporozhye said that Ukrainian forces bombed a grain and fertilizer warehouse in the city of Tokmak in the province.

In the southwestern city of Odessa, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Sunday that it launched an attack on the city with Iranian drones, one of which was shot down.

In the Kharkiv province (northeast), fighting continues in the city of Kobyansk, in the south of the province.

The Ukrainian forces regained control of the western part of the city after about 7 months of Russian control.