On Wednesday, Moscow prepared to annex regions of Ukraine, and announced what it said was a count of votes in referendums showing support in four partially occupied regions to join Russia, which sparked condemnation from Kyiv and the West as considering the referendums legally invalid and conducted at gunpoint, according to what the agency reported. The French Press” (AFP).
On Moscow’s Red Square, a platform with giant video screens was set up, with billboards reading “Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, Kherson – Russia!”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin could announce annexation in a speech within days, just over a week after he approved the move to hold referendums, ordered a partial military mobilization at home and threatened to defend Russia with nuclear weapons if necessary.
Russia-designated departments in the four Ukrainian regions formally asked Putin on Wednesday to incorporate them into Russia, which Russian officials have indicated is a formality.
“The results are clear. Welcome home, in Russia!” Dmitry Medvedev, the country’s former president and now deputy head of the National Security Council, said on Telegram.
Russia-backed administrations say they have held referendums over five days in those regions, which make up about 15 percent of Ukraine’s territory.
Residents who fled to Ukraine-controlled territory in recent days spoke of itinerant officials forcing people to fill out ballot papers in the streets at gunpoint.
Footage filmed during the vote showed Russian officials moving ballot boxes from house to house with armed men.
Russia says the vote was voluntary and in line with international law, and that turnout was high.
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