Without openly condemning the sham referendums, Beijing, a close ally of Moscow, called for respect for the “territorial integrity of all countries”.
Voting started yesterday, Friday, within the framework of referendums of Russia for the annexation of its territories Ukrainian, which are under the full or partial occupation of Russian forces. The Kyiv categorically condemned these votes, as did Washingtonwhich pledged a “swift and stern response” to Russia.
Yesterday, Friday, in the evening in his address to the nation, the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called on the rest of the world to condemn these “pseudo-referendums”, as he described them.
“The people will react with the greatest justice to the pseudo-referendums” and that “they will be roundly condemned”he underlined.
Echoing his statements, the US president Joe Biden warned Russia that the US “will work with (their) allies and partners to quickly and severely impose additional economic measures on Russia” if it annexes Ukrainian territories.
“Russia’s referendums are a sham, a false pretext to try to forcibly annex parts of Ukraine,” denounced in a statement the American president, who has already imposed several bundles of economic and financial sanctions on the Russian authorities.
At the same time, in their joint statement, the G7 countries (Germany, Canada, USA, France, Italy, Japan and Britain) called on “all countries to categorically reject these fictitious referendums”, which are “false” and “have neither legal force nor legitimacy”.
Without proceeding to condemn the referenda, h ChinaMoscow’s closest partner, called for respect for the “territorial integrity of all countries”.
At the same time the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reservists continued at Russiaas the Kremlin seeks to halt the advance of the Ukrainian army, which, bolstered by Western arms deliveries, claimed further territorial gains yesterday.
Zelensky called on all Ukrainians in Russian-held territory to “hide to escape Russian conscription” and if they cannot escape “to sabotage any activity of the enemy”.
On the UN side, a commission of inquiry of the international organization found yesterday that “war crimes have been committed in Ukraine”, mainly referring to the Russian bombing of civilian zones, executions, torture, ill-treatment, as well as sexual violence.
Ukraine announced at the same time that 447 bodies had been exhumed from a mass grave in Izium, a town retaken by Ukrainian forces in northeastern Ukraine after months of Russian occupation, and that 30 of them bore “marks of torture”, notably tied hands. broken limbs and “mutilated genitalia”.
International criticism has not stopped Moscow from pushing ahead with its plans for referendums in Ukraine.
Voting, which began at 08:00 Greek time yesterday, will conclude on Tuesday, September 27 in the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, in eastern Ukraine, and in the Russian-occupied zones of Kherson and Zaporizhia, in southern Ukraine.
Kyiv criticizes Iran
Hundreds of polling stations were expected to open in those four regions, and in others in Russia for the displaced to vote.
“We hope that after the referendum they will stop bombing us, that we will have peace and order,” he told AFP Vladimir Syutov who comes from the Luhansk region and had gone to vote at the Donetsk delegation in Moscow.
In the Russian capital, St. Petersburg and other Russian cities, the authorities organized demonstrations in support of the referendums with flags and slogans.
“These referendums are a step towards peace,” said the 40-year-old Viktor Suvorov, who participated in the demonstration that took place in Moscow, near Red Square.
In Ukraine, in Chevchenkove, the Ukrainian official Andrii Kanasevic strongly reacted to statements he made to AFP on these “illegal” referendums. “To be honest, they have no value,” he said.
In the meantime Iran he was again targeted by the Ukrainian authorities, who accuse him of arms deliveries to Moscow, mainly droneswhich caused one death in an attack by Russian forces in the port of Odessa yesterday.
Denouncing “hostile” behavior by Tehran, Kyiv decided to remove the credentials from Iranian ambassador in Ukraine and to “significantly reduce” the staff of the Iranian embassy in Kyiv.
Ukrainian advance
On the ground, Ukraine announced yesterday the recapture of Yachivka in the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine. It also announced that its forces advanced south of Bakhmut, an area in the eastern part of the country that the Russian army has been trying unsuccessfully for months to bring under its control.
On the separatist side, the head of Donetsk Denis Pussin he reported an “extremely difficult” situation in the northern part of his city.
In the Luhansk region, another separatist official, Mr Andrey Marochko, reported Ukrainian shelling, noting that Kiev forces “want to do everything to break up the referendum.”
The hasty announcement of these referendums was accompanied by this Wednesday by the Russian president Vladimir Putin of the immediate partial mobilization of at least 300,000 reservists. Putin has also threatened to use Russia’s entire arsenal, which includes nuclear weapons.
Although television networks broadcast almost no images of the draft, several videos on social media showed grim-faced men boarding buses after hugging their loved ones, some with teary eyes.
29-year-old Konstantin, contacted by AFP, said he had been sent an individual invitation to his parents’ home. “I’m still in shock,” he said. “I don’t want to hide, but I’m not jumping for joy either,” he noted.
Others were seen being paraded after being arrested at Wednesday’s anti-conscription protests.
“I was expecting the usual: the arrest, the police station, the court. But when I heard them say: ‘Tomorrow you are leaving for the war’, (…) that was an unpleasant surprise,” the also 29-year-old told AFP Michael Swetin, who refused to sign the document.
The announcement of partial conscription also prompted many Russians to flee the country, causing an influx at the border, without being able to quantify the magnitude of the phenomenon.
Finland has decided to take steps to “significantly” limit the entry of Russian citizens into its territory, while the Baltic countries and Poland have already effectively halted entries for weeks.
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
