Kyiv, Ukraine — According to Russian-backed officials in Moscow-held parts of Ukraine, referendums on joining Russia began on Friday.
The Kremlin-orchestrated referendums, which have been heavily criticized by Ukraine and the West as having no legal standing, are considered as a precursor to Russia’s annexation of the areas.
Voting is taking place in the areas of Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhia, and Donetsk that are partially controlled by Russia.
The elections, which ask locals if they want their districts to become part of Russia, will undoubtedly favor Moscow. This would provide the Kremlin with the justification to claim that attempts by Ukrainian forces to restore control are assaults against Russia, substantially intensifying the seven-month conflict.
The referendums are in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s request for a partial mobilization, which may send an additional 300,000 Russian troops to the battle. Through Tuesday, voting will continue for five days.
As voting began in the occupied districts, Russian social media sites were filled with dramatic images of distraught families saying goodbye to their loved ones as they left military mobilization facilities. In cities across the huge nation, men embraced their grieving family members prior to being drafted.
In the interim, Russian anti-war activists planned additional demonstrations against the mobilization. Multiple arrests have resulted from the widespread anti-war rallies that followed the news of the partial call-up. At one point, there were miles-long lineups of outbound traffic at the Russian border with Finland, and flights from Russia were claimed to be at capacity. Friday morning traffic was still heavy, according to the Reuters news agency.
A military truck passes along a street with a billboard that reads “With Russia forever, September 27” prior to a vote in the separatist-controlled Luhansk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine, which is backed by Russia. AP
During the first four days of the referendums, election authorities would deliver ballots to people’s homes and set up makeshift polling stations near residential buildings, according to Russian-installed officials in the occupied regions, who cited safety concerns. Tuesday will be the only day on which voters will be permitted to cast ballots.
In Russia, where refugees from occupied territories can vote, polls have already begun.
Friday’s referendum, according to Denis Pushilin, rebel head of Moscow-backed authorities in the Donetsk area, was a “historical milestone.”
Speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, addressed the seized regions in an online statement on Friday, saying, “If you chose to join the Russian Federation, we will back you.”
Valentina Matviyenko, the head of Russia’s upper house of parliament, stated that during the referendums, people of the seized territories were voting for “life or death.”
In his evening address, in which he switched from Ukrainian to Russian to directly tell Russian citizens they are being “thrown to their deaths,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made only a brief reference to the “fake referendums.”
“You are already complicit in all of these crimes, murders, and tortures against Ukrainians,” he stated. “Because you were silent. Because you are silent. And now it is your turn to decide. For men in Russia, this is a choice between life and death, crippling or maintaining health. Women in Russia must choose between losing their husbands, kids, and grandchildren forever or continuing to defend them from death, war, and an individual.”
Voting takes place in the midst of ceaseless warfare in Ukraine, with Russian and Ukrainian soldiers exchanging fire and refusing to yield territory.
On Friday morning, pro-Russian officials in the Zaporizhzhia region reported a loud explosion in the city center of Melitopol, which Moscow had conquered early in the conflict. Official Vladimir Rogov provided no information regarding the cause of the explosion or the number of casualties.
Donetsk, the territory’s capital, and Yasynuvata, a neighbouring city, were allegedly shelled by Ukrainian forces, according to officials backed by Moscow in the Donetsk region.
In turn, Ukrainian officials reported further Russian bombardment in numerous regions of the nation. Friday morning, according to Vitaliy Kim, the governor of the Mykolaiv area in southern Ukraine, which borders the Kherson region, explosions were heard in the city of Mykolaiv.
Friday morning, according to Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk district, the Russians shelled the city of Nikopol, located across the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.