Russia's Putin administration is expected to continue its ``referendum'' activities until the 27th, aiming for unilateral annexation of eastern and southern Ukraine, after which the votes will be counted.
The Russian side is ready to proceed with annexation based on this result, and the Ukrainian side strongly criticizes it as a "fake referendum."
As Russia continues its military invasion of Ukraine, pro-Russian factions have been carrying out what they call a "referendum" on the 23rd of this month in Russian-controlled areas in the east and south.
On the 26th, pro-Russian forces claimed that in the four days of voting so far, the voter turnout was over 83% in the eastern province of Luhansk and over 63% in the southern province of Kherson.
On the other hand, a 45-year-old woman living in Luhansk province told NHK in a telephone interview, "There are two armed soldiers in military uniforms behind the person holding the ballot box. We record the date of birth, address, name, etc. ”He clarified the situation that he was pressuring residents to vote.
The Ukrainian government and Western countries are also criticizing it as a "fake referendum."
It is expected that the vote will be counted on the same day after the vote is held until the 27th, and the Russian state-run TASS news agency said that the annexation procedure may be carried out on the 30th after a resolution in the Russian parliament. I'm telling you.
UN Security Council to emergency meeting
The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the afternoon of the 27th early in the morning of the 28th Japan time to discuss the response to the activities that Russia is conducting in eastern and southern Ukraine as a "referendum". became.