Pro-Moscow officials say occupied areas have voted to join Russia in referendums dismissed as illegitimate by the West
CBSN
The Kremlin paved the way Tuesday to annex part of Ukraine and escalate the war by claiming that residents of a large swath of occupied Ukraine overwhelmingly supported joining with Russia in stage-managed referendums that the U.S. and its Western allies have dismissed as illegitimate.
Pro-Moscow officials said all four occupied regions of Ukraine voted to join Russia. According to Russia-installed election officials, 93% of the ballots cast in the Zaporizhzhia region supported annexation, as did 87% in the Kherson region, 98% in the Luhansk region and 99% in Donetsk.
In a remark that appeared to rule out negotiations, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy told the U.N. Security Council by video from Kyiv that Russia's attempts to annex Ukrainian territory will mean "there is nothing to talk about with this president of Russia."
