"Pseudo-referendums" in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine are held with extremely low turnout, and the organizers are accompanied by Russian military personnel.
This was reported by the legal representatives of the Ukrainian authorities in these territories and the local public.
Right, the occupiersʼ "referendum" is not going well in Kherson. People do not come to vote for the occupation, so the Russians go around houses with weapons and force Ukrainians to vote. Those who disagree are threatened. Some of residents try not to open the door to the occupiers. "Voting boxes" were also installed near markets and shops in villages and cities of the region. There are no people around them at all. The same situation is in the "pollimg stations".
The head of the Luhansk regional military administration Serhiy Haidai published a photo from the so-called "referendum" in Luhansk. It shows a "polling station" located just in the yard of a residential building, and next to it is a Russian soldier with a weapon.
The mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov reported that there was an explosion in the city in the morning, because of which people are afraid to leave their homes.
"And this fear work for the occupiersʼ benefit — on the first day of “home-based voting” in the pseudo-referendum, they need everyone to sit quietly at home," the mayor noted.
Representatives of the Ukrainian authorities call on the residents of the occupied territories not to participate in illegal voting, and also remind about the criminal responsibility for going to the pseudo-referendum — up to 15 years in prison.
- On September 20, the heads of the administrations of the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russia announced the holding of the so-called "referendums" on joining the Russian Federation on September 23-27.
- The USA and the EU condemned Russiaʼs intention to annex the occupied Ukrainian territories. Ukraine stated that the "referendums" will not affect plans to liberate the territories. The G7 countries promised Russia new sanctions.