The predetermined result sets the ground for a risky new chapter in Russia’s conflict, as the Kremlin has threatened to send in additional troops and maybe deploy nuclear weapons.
A day after declaring that the local population overwhelmingly approved such a move in Kremlin-orchestrated ballots generally regarded as fraudulent, Russian-installed officials in occupied regions of Ukraine said Wednesday they will urge President Vladimir Putin to merge them into Russia.
The predetermined result opens the door to a risky new chapter in Russia’s seven-month war, during which the Kremlin has threatened to send in additional troops and maybe deploy nuclear weapons.
Beginning on September 23, residents in the four occupied southern and eastern Ukraine regions had the opportunity to vote in referendums on whether they wanted to join Russia. Frequently, armed officials canvassed homes to collect votes.
The appeal will be made on Wednesday, according to pro-Moscow leaders in the eastern Luhansk area and the partially seized Zaporizhzhia region. Such a request will be made to Putin “in the next days,” according to the Russian-supported government of the nearby seized Kherson province.
In his address to the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday via video link, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that “any annexation in the modern world is a crime, a crime against all states that consider the inviolability of border to be vital for themselves.”
Separatist leaders in the Donetsk area, which is still mostly governed by Ukraine, are anticipated to act similarly.
