Referendum is being held in 4 provinces of Ukraine for accession to Russia. World leaders have condemned it as a ‘prelude to illegal annexation’.
According to the British news agency, in the provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which represent about 15 percent of the country’s territory, the referendum on joining Russia began on Friday and voting will continue until Tuesday.
Ukraine and its allies have made it clear they will not recognize the results of the referendum.
According to the report, the referendum to join Russia has been discussed by pro-Moscow officials for months.
Russia is of the view that this is an opportunity for the people of the region to express their views.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this week that “from the beginning of the operation, we said that the people of the respective regions should decide their own destiny, and the current situation confirms that they want to be the masters of their own destiny.” .
World leaders have condemned the referendum, including US President Joe Biden, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as NATO, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Russian President Putin on Wednesday announced the addition of 300,000 soldiers to the war.
He had said that if the West shows its ‘nuclear blackmail’ on the conflict, Moscow will respond with the power of all its extensive weapons. will do
