The pro-Russian authorities in 4 Ukrainian regions fully or partially controlled by Moscow announced today, Tuesday, that the results of the referendums to include them in Russia show "strong" support for the "yes" option, according to preliminary results.
RIA Novosti, TASS and Interfax news agencies reported that the pro-Moscow authorities in Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye confirmed that support for the option of secession from Ukraine in these regions came from 97% to 98% of the vote, after counting between 20% and 27% of the votes.
RIA Novosti reported that the Russian parliament may consider joining the four Ukrainian regions to the Russian Federation on the fourth of next October.
The agency said that preliminary data indicate that 96.92% of the participants in the referendum in Kherson voted in favor of joining Russia, while support in Lugansk was 82%, 97.91% in Donetsk and 98% in Zaporozhye.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry considered that the results of the referendums will not affect the conduct of Ukrainian operations on the fronts.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the alliance's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and the "illegitimacy" of the referendums held by Russia.
drastic changes
Earlier, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the Ukrainian regions where referendums are held will witness radical changes from the legal point of view and from the point of view of international law, as well as due to the measures taken to ensure security in them, as he put it.
On the other hand, the European Commission said that Russia's referendums in eastern Ukraine are "illegal", noting that they are being held in areas under the threat of war.
"Those who contribute to the holding of illegal referendums in eastern Ukraine will be subject to sanctions," the European Commission added.
For its part, the British Ministry of Defense said today, Tuesday, that Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to announce the annexation of the occupied Ukrainian regions to the Russian Federation during his speech to Parliament next Friday.
"Russia's leaders almost certainly hope that any declaration of annexation will be seen as proof of the necessity of the special military operation and will strengthen national support (inside Russia) for the conflict," she said in a statement.
Although Ukraine and its allies denounced these referendums and the G7 countries pledged never to recognize the election results, these criticisms and threats did not deter Moscow, according to observers, and the Russian parliament is expected to vote soon on a law legalizing its annexation under Russian sovereignty.
Attacks and clashes
On the ground, Russian attacks have intensified with Iranian marches recently, as the Ukrainian army announced on Monday that it had recorded Russian bombings of more than 40 cities and towns, and repelled attacks in about 10 directions, including Solidar and Bakhmut in the east.
Clashes continue in the Kharkiv region in the northeast, while the southern command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said today, Tuesday, that its counterattack in Kherson inflicted losses on the enemy amounting to 77 soldiers, 6 tanks, 5 howitzers, 3 anti-aircraft systems and 14 armored vehicles.
The Russian Ministry of Defense published video footage of the bombing of Ukrainian military targets by attack helicopters.
The ministry also confirmed the destruction of the ground control station for unmanned aircraft in the Dnipropetrovsk region in southeastern Ukraine, and said that its forces had shot down two Ukrainian MiG-29 fighters in Kherson Province.
Late on Monday, the Ukrainian president described the military situation in Donetsk as "extremely dangerous".
"We are doing everything we can to contain the enemy's activity. This is our first goal now because Donbass is still the first target of the occupiers," said Volodymyr Zelensky, referring to the wider region that includes Donetsk and Luhansk.