Russian proxies in occupied Ukrainian territories are knocking on residents’ doors and pressuring them to vote to formally join Russia, a Ukrainian official said Friday.
Russia-occupied areas of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, along with the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics, are staging referendums from Sept. 23-27 that will decide whether they will be annexed by Russia.
“When a person checks ‘NO’ on the ‘ballot’ it is recorded in a ‘notebook’,” the Luhansk region’s Ukrainian Governor Serhiy Haidai wrote on his Telegram channel of the Russian proxies' election visits.
Haidai added that the Russian proxies are accompanied by armed men on their door-to-door visits.
Kyiv and its Western allies have decried the referendum votes as a “sham” and an unlawful land grab by Moscow.
The majority of referendum voting will be conducted at homes “as a security measure,” the Russian state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Rallies in support of the ongoing referendums are being held in several Russian cities, media reported, with state employees, students and political activists reportedly being transported to the events.
The referendums were announced a day before President Vladimir Putin declared a “partial” mobilization of Russia’s military reservists, a move aimed at bolstering Moscow’s flagging manpower in its seven-month invasion of Ukraine.
The vice spokesperson of Russia’s Federal Council said earlier that any attack on Russia-occupied territories of Ukraine during and after the referendums would be viewed as an attack on Russia itself.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
