Ukraine, referendum for annexation to Russia is underway

The provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which represent about 15 percent of the territory of Ukraine, are preparing today to hold referendums for accession to Russia. The polls will remain open until 27 September. Ukraine and its allies in the international community have already spoken of a farce referendum, making it clear that they will not be recognized legally and politically. Read also The vote will take place “door to door and in communities for security reasons”, wrote Tass, on the eve of the vote. Fights are underway in these regions, Ukrainian forces are advancing on the territory, part of the population has fled and the other is under Russian military occupation. The referendums will also try to get minors aged 13-17 to vote, including children from orphanages, to increase the number of voters, according to the Ukrainian security services, cited by Ukrainska pravda. “In order to strengthen control over turnout, minors will have to be accompanied to the polling stations by their parents, guardians or representatives of the so-called orphanages of the temporarily occupied territories”, the Ukrainian services report. numbers of seats set up in Ukraine, adding that it will also be possible to vote in Russia. In the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk, they say, 1.5 million ballots have been printed, while in the regions of Zaphorzhzhia and Kherson there are respectively 500,000 and 750,000 people on the register of voters. The agency also publishes surveys that predict high attendance, between 72% and 87%. To complete the fiction, mention is made of the presence of international observers, without however mentioning numbers or countries of origin. Tass also stressed that local authorities are taking security measures due to the threat of Ukrainian bombing. And there is talk of policemen who will accompany election officials in door-to-door operations. New sanctions on Russia New sanctions on Russia will soon arrive. The political message, clear, was launched both by the President of the EU Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, “we are ready to impose further economic costs on Russia”, and by the EU High Representative Josep Borrell, “we will study and adopt new measures restrictive, both personal and sectoral “. A reaction considered necessary after the escalation wanted by Vladimir Putin with the mobilization and the announcement of the referendums for the annexation of the occupied areas in Ukraine. Zelensky Meanwhile, an appeal to “protest” against the partial mobilization, ordered by President Vladimir Putin, was addressed to the Russians in a video message from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. “Fifty-five thousand Russian soldiers have died in these six months of war. Tens of thousands are wounded and maimed. Do you want more? No? Then protest. React,” Zelensky said, pointing out that the only options Russian soldiers have to survive they are “run away or surrender”. Lavrov The referendums on annexation to Russia to be held in the Donbass, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, are a response to President Zelensky’s call for Russians to leave Ukraine. “The apotheosis was an interview given by Mr. Zelensky on August 5 last year in which he advised all those who feel Russian to go to Russia for the sake of their children and grandchildren,” Lavrov said. adding that the recent decisions on referendums “are a response to his desire (by Zelensky, ed.)”. “The objective of the Western states is obvious, they do not hide it and declare it: to prolong hostilities as much as possible, despite the victims and destructions, to exhaust and weaken Russia “, Lavrov said, speaking to the UN Security Council.” Such a line means the direct involvement of Western countries in the Ukrainian conflict, makes them participate – he added according to reports La Tass – Even the deliberate incitement of this conflict by the collective West remains unpunished “. At the UN, on the sidelines of the General Assembly, Lavrov met the Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, com and the Russian Foreign Ministry reports on telegram, which also posts a photo of the handshake. Protests News of protests against the mobilization of reservists, to go and fight in Ukraine, come from the Russian republic of Dagestan in the Caucasus region. Two videos are shown on the Guardian website, one showing a column of cars blocking a freeway in Babaiurt in protest, the other a heated exchange between a group of men and a recruiting officer. The woman declares that we must fight to defend the future, but a man replies: “We don’t even have a present, what future are you talking about?”.