Referendum

The pro-Russian authorities of the Lugansk and Kherson regions, in eastern Ukraine, asked Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to accept the annexation of the territories to Russia following the annexation referendums held in recent days and which are considered illegitimate by much of the international community.

The leaders of the breakaway republics of Donetsk y Luhanskin the east of Ukraineare on their way to Moscow to formalize the annexation to Russia following the “referendums” held in four territories controlled by Russian troops in which the majority of voters supported this option, according to the pro-Russians.

“I have the document, the protocol (end of the referendums on accession to Russia) and now I am going to Moscow,” said the head of self-proclaimed Donetsk, Denis Pushilin.

The leader of Lugansk, Leonid Pásechnik, also reported that he is on his way to the Russian capital with the aim of finalizing the legal procedures for the incorporation of the territory into Russia.

Before leaving for Moscow, Passechnik addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to ask for Lugansk to be incorporated into Russia.

“Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin’s patronymic), I am writing to you on behalf of the people of the Luhansk region. Taking into account the approval by the population of the republic in the referendum, I ask you to consider the issue of uniting the Luhansk People’s Republic with Russia as a subject of the Russian Federation,” Paséchnik said, according to the letter published by the information center of the pro-Russian separatist territory.

Between 87.05 and 99.23% of the voters in the referendums in the territories controlled by Russian forces in the east and south of Ukraine supported annexation to Russia, according to the results released this Wednesday by the pro-Russian authorities with the one hundred percent of the ballots counted. The legitimacy of this process has been denied by Ukraine and virtually the entire international community.

The greatest support for annexation was recorded in Donetsk, where 99.23% of voters would have supported joining Russia.

The figure was slightly lower in Lugansk, where 98.42% reportedly voted in favor of this option.

In the territories controlled by Russia in the southern Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson, 93.11 and 87.05% of citizens, respectively, would have voted in favor of entering Russia.

Ukraine and practically the entire international community denied any legitimacy to the consultations.

According to the Russian newspaper Kommersantthe process of annexation of the four Ukrainian territories to Russia may take 12 days.

This is twice the time required to incorporate the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.

According to Russian law, Putin has to first recognize the independence of Kherson and Zaporizhia before approving their accession to Russia.

The independence of Donetsk and Lugansk was already recognized by Moscow on February 21, three days before the start of the military campaign in Ukraine.

Yesterday it became known that the Russian Senate plans to debate the annexation of the new territories on October 4. Before the incorporation has to receive the approval of the Duma or Russian lower house.

Once both chambers of Parliament give their approval, the respective document will be ratified by Putin, which may happen on the same day.