Russia’s annexation referendums start in occupied Ukraine, say agencies

The referendums are reminiscent of a similar sort in 2014 that saw the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine annexed by Russia.

Referendums on Russia’s annexation began on September 23, 2022 in Ukrainian territory controlled by Moscow, Russian news agencies reported, in what Kyiv and the West have denounced as a “sham” vote.

Voting began at 0500 GMT on September 23, 2022 and was due to end Tuesday in four regions controlled entirely or in part by Russian troops — Donetsk and Lugansk in the east and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south.

Earlier, Moscow-held regions of Ukraine begin voting on whether to become part of Russia, in referendums that Kyiv and its allies have condemned as an unlawful land grab.

The referendums in eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions, as well as in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions have been roundly dismissed as a sham by Kyiv's Western allies.

They come after Putin announced this week a mandatory troop call-up for about 300,000 reservists, which also sparked resounding condemnation in the West.

The mobilisation comes after Ukrainian forces seized back most of the northeastern Kharkiv region in a huge counter-offensive that has seen Kyiv retaking hundreds of towns and villages under Russian control for months.

The four regions' integration into Russia — which for most observers is already a foregone conclusion — would represent a major new escalation of the conflict.