Russia claims victory in Ukraine ‘sham referendums’

Pro-Kremlin officials have said three parts of occupied Ukrainian territory have chosen to join Russia, following votes that Kyiv and the West dismissed as “sham referendums”.

Voting started in the provinces of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia last Thursday, shortly after a series of humiliating military setbacks for Moscow. In recent weeks, Ukraine has recaptured thousands of square kilometres of land, most notably in the northeast regions of Kharkiv.

On Tuesday, Moscow-backed separatists said 93 per cent of ballots in Zaporizhzhia were cast in favour of Russian annexation. The counts in the southern Kherson region and the eastern Luhansk region were similarly one-sided, they added.

Results from Donetsk are expected to be announced later.

Addressing the UN late on Tuesday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called on world leaders to isolate Russia further by introducing new sanctions.

“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,” he said. 

The war-time leader accused Moscow of destroying “the main body of international law”, saying that peace talks were now out of the question.

“Russia‘s recognition of these sham referenda as normal, the implementation of the so-called Crimean scenario and another attempt to annex Ukrainian territory, will mean that there is nothing to talk about with this president of Russia,” he said. “Annexation is the kind of move that puts him alone against the whole of humanity.” 

The Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea was annexed by Russia in a similar referendum in 2014.

Ahead of the latest votes, the West warned that the results would be rigged.

“Sham referendums held at the barrel of a gun cannot be free or fair and we will never recognise their results. They follow a clear pattern of violence, intimidation, torture, and forced deportations in the areas of Ukraine Russia has seized,” British foreign secretary James Cleverly said, while announcing new Russian sanctions.

The UK brought a raft of measures against more than 90 people who were either linked to the referendums or who were accused of funding the Russian war machine.

The US is drafting a resolution at the United Nations Security Council to condemn the referendums.

“Russia’s sham referenda, if accepted, will open a pandora’s box that we cannot close,” American envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

If Moscow vetoes the resolution, a vote could then be held at the UN General Assembly, Ms Thomas-Greenfield said.

“If Russia chooses to shield itself from accountability here in the council, we will then look to the UN General Assembly to send an unmistakable message to Moscow.”

It is expected that Moscow will officially announce the referendum results later this week, before declaring the annexations of all four areas. Analysts believe the seven-month war will then enter a dangerous new phase, as Russia will likely claim it is defending its “sovereignty” in Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.

In the run-up to the official result, the Putin regime has claimed its threats to use nuclear weapons should be taken seriously.

Dmitry Medvedev, a close Putin ally who is the deputy head of the Russian Security Council, said this week that Moscow could its most powerful weapons against Ukraine if Russia’s “very existence” comes under threat.

“I believe that Nato will steer clear from direct meddling in the conflict,” he claimed.