Four regions of Russian-occupied Ukraine have begun holding referendums, which Kyiv has denounced as invalid and which are seen to be opening the door for Moscow to formally annex some 15% of Ukrainian territory.
Voting will continue through September 27 in the self-declared “independent republics” of Luhansk and Donetsk, which have been governed by rebels backed by Moscow since 2014.
According to the Russian news agency TASS, the voting procedure will be unconventional in the four regions.
According to the statement, “it was decided not to hold electronic voting and use the traditional paper ballots due to the short deadlines and lack of technical equipment.”
Only on the last day will polling places be open for locals to cast their ballots, with authorities going door-to-door for the first four days to collect votes.
Following a swift Ukraine counteroffensive that swiftly reclaimed large portions of territory in northeastern Kharkiv that Russia had conquered after entering the nation on February 24, the four areas’ leaders who had been installed by Russia hastily announced the plans on Tuesday.
The outcome is already known to favor annexation, and Ukraine and its allies have stated explicitly that they would not accept it.
In a comparable vote, which was held in Crimea in the aftermath of the Russian invasion in 2014 and was not recognized by the international community, 97 percent of voters approved of official annexation.
Because incorporation would allow Moscow to claim that it was protecting its own territory, the votes are considered a dramatic escalation of the seven-month-old war in Ukraine, in which thousands have died and millions have been displaced.
Serhiy Haidai, the regional governor of Luhansk, said on Ukrainian TV, “If this is all proclaimed Russian territory, they may say that this is a direct attack on Russia so they can engage without any reservations.”
The United Nations, world leaders, including US Vice President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as international organizations like NATO, the European Union, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have all denounced the referendums (OSCE).
Election results won’t have any legal standing, according to the OSCE, which is monitoring them, because they don’t follow Ukrainian law or international norms and because combat is still going on in the voting districts.
