The pro-Russian leaders of these areas formally request their accession to Moscow
Russian diplomacy confirmed on Wednesday that the four Ukrainian regions under Moscow’s control have “held free elections in Russia’s favor” by voting for Russia’s annexation in referendums approved by Kiev and much of the international community of Russia. illegitimate. “The results of this plebiscite speak for themselves: the residents of Donbas, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya do not want to go back to their former lives and have made a conscious and free choice in favor of Russia,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. a statement.
In all these regions, which make up about 15% of the Ukrainian territory, the ‘yes’ to joining the Russian Federation was almost 100%. However, Kiev has denounced Russian forces’ pressure on neighbors to support the annexation, as well as numerous irregularities. Even the UN has stated that the military has carried ballot boxes from house to house to ensure a favorable outcome.
This has not prevented the pro-Russian authorities of the occupied territories from formalizing the request to join the Kremlin. This has been done by the leader of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (PLR), Leonid Pasechnik, as well as Vladimir Saldo, head of Kherson’s civil-military administration.
“Dear Vladimir, I am writing to you on behalf of the people of the Luhansk region. Taking into account the approval obtained through the referendum, I ask you to consider the possibility of adding the area to Russia as part of the Federation,” Pasechnik said in a letter, according to information from the television network Lugansk 24.
For example, he has assured that the inhabitants of the area have been victims of brutal bombings and of the “genocide perpetrated by Kiev” for eight years. Residents of Lugansk have been the target of attacks. In unsuccessful attempts to take over the territory, the neo-Nazis have only increased terror by bombing civilian and industrial infrastructure and destroying schools, hospitals and nurseries,” he said, before recalling that “no international organization is of Kiev has condemned. the Donbas.
Balance, for its part, has emphasized that more than 87% of voters have called for the annexation “with their historic country” and emphasized that the consultation was conducted in accordance with the general principles and standards of international law.
The head of Zaporizhzhya’s military-civilian administration, Yevgeni Balitsky, has sent a similar proposal to Putin, according to information from Interfax news agency, which has had access to the document.
However, the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, has assured that the participation in the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhya is 0.5%, a figure that is in stark contrast to the figure quoted by the pro-Russian authorities.
Fedorov has pointed out that “no civilized state” can recognize this vote and has announced that the Ukrainian state will continue to pay the pensions and salaries of public sector workers in the occupied territories, as he stated in a Telegram message.
Source: La Verdad
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