Today at 21:21
The UK has imposed new sanctions for holding so-called sham “referendums” in the occupied territories of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions. The restrictions affected another 92 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and firms, as well as four billionaires. Some of those who fell under the new sanctions are involved in organizing sham referendums, and some support the Russian invasion organizationally or financially, according to the British authorities. Read more about the reaction of the world to another attempt by Russia to annex part of Ukraine in the material of FREEDOM journalists.
“Sabbat, nonsense, fake, theater of the absurd. Anything you want, you can say, because it really is. Because everything is broken here. Let’s take from the laws of the same Russian Federation, our laws, international, even everyday rules of conduct – everything is completely violated, ”emphasizes the head of the Lugansk regional military administration, Serhiy Haidai.
Ukrainians say they will never accept the results of the sham referendums.
“People are just under a lot of pressure there. They are at gunpoint, so they go and vote,” – a resident of the city of Slovyansk, Donetsk region, is confident.
A resident of Odessa calls all these events in the occupied territories a farce.
“This has been known before. All this was in the Crimea and later, in these so-called “republics,” – he says.
The world community also considers Putin’s referendums criminal. US President Joseph Biden called the sham voting a fiction and an attempt to annex territories.
And NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that such an “expression of will” is nothing more than an escalation of the conflict and a blatant violation of international law. Due to the decision to hold sham referendums in the occupied Ukrainian territories, Moscow is losing its already few partners. Thus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan stated that they did not recognize the results of illegal voting.
“Kazakhstan proceeds from the principles of the territorial integrity of states, their sovereign equality and peaceful coexistence,” – said Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov.
The same position was voiced by Turkey.
We have stated and continue to declare to Russia that we do not recognize the annexation of Crimea. We do not recognize the results of the referendums that are taking place on the territory of Ukraine,” – summed up Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Serbia, which Moscow has included in the list of friendly countries, said that it could not recognize the results of the sham referendums, because they contradict international law.
“On the one hand, our fundamental commitment to the principles and norms of public international law and the UN Charter. On the other hand, this would be completely contrary to our state and national interests, our policy of maintaining territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as commitment to the principle of inviolability of borders,” – Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic said.
Even in Belarus, sham referendums were not called legal. Recognize them or not – decide later.
“We will look at the situation. We will make a decision based on national interests, not on the basis of the national interests of some other country,” – said Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei.
The world will no longer be loyal to the Kremlin. Experts are sure that the reaction to the new sham referenda will be many times tougher than the one that took place in Crimea.
“The reaction of the world is completely different than in 2014. It is more determined and active. No one is going to recognize the results of these sham “referendums”. In fact, all states, except for some that took such a neutral-balancing position: China, India, all spoke out against sham referendums, against the annexation of territories and supported the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, ” – said Yevhen Dobryak, international affairs expert.
The Kremlin decided to hold illegal “referendums” to speed up the course of the so-called “special military operation” and raise the stakes. But he only achieved that the states that help Ukraine introduce new restrictions against the aggressor country, and those who still maintain diplomatic and economic relations with Moscow turned away from it.
Earlier, on September 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization in Russia and support for sham referendums in the occupied territories of Ukraine. The so-called “voting” ends on September 27th.
