A so-called 'referendum' to join Russia announced by pro-Russian authorities of the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine has raised alarm bells globally.
The voting is planned for Sept. 23 to 27. Self-appointed Kremlin-backed officials of the occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions also announced they would hold referendums on the same dates.
This decision of the Kremlin's proxies to stage sham referendums marked a significant escalation of the conflict and has been widely condemned by world leaders. "No matter how much the Russian Federation holds illegal votes in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the result will be the same: all Ukrainian territories will be freed from Russian occupation, and the Russian leadership will be brought to the strictest responsibility for organized terror, war crimes and crimes against humanity on Ukrainian soil," the statement said.
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