Ukraine will never recognise ‘null and worthless’ Russian referendums in its occupied territories and will keep fighting to liberate them, Kyiv has vowed today.
Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson ‘remain the sovereign territories of Ukraine’, Kyiv’s foreign ministry said, despite sham votes staged by Russia at gunpoint that have paved the way for Putin to annex them.
‘Ukraine has every right to restore its territorial integrity by military and diplomatic means, and will continue to liberate’ its territory, the ministry added – in defiance of the Kremlin’s threats to resort to nukes.
Meanwhile American lawmakers were said to have earmarked another $12billion in military and economic aid for Ukraine, underlining their commitment to support Kyiv for the long despite Russia’s sabre-rattling.
Ukraine has vowed never to recognise ‘null and worthless’ Russian referendums or to stop liberating its occupied territories (pictured, Russian troops outside a polling station)
President Zelensky said there will be no peace talks with Russia while Putin is attempting to carve up his country under the guise of democracy
Russian officials in Ukraine’s occupied regions announced yesterday that 90 per cent of people had voted to become part of Russia – a result that was in little doubt as armed soldiers took ballot boxes door-to-door.
Kremlin puppets in the occupied regions said they planned to ask permission to join Russia today, with Putin expected to accept on Friday in an address to parliament.
Though void of legitimacy, the process will allow Putin to spin the lie to his own people that Ukraine is now attacking Russian rather than the other way around – kicking off a dangerous new phase in the conflict.
President Zelensky, speaking at the UN last night, said there could be no peace negotiations with Putin while he was working to carve up Ukrainian territory.
‘Russia’s recognition of these sham referendums as normal… will mean that there is nothing to talk about with this president of Russia’, he said.
Separately, his foreign ministry slammed ‘armed aggression and helpless attempts to hold on to the temporarily occupied territories’ by the Kremlin.
‘Forcing people in these territories to fill out some papers at the barrel of a gun is yet another Russian crime in the course of its aggression against Ukraine,’ it said.
‘Such actions severely violate the Constitution and laws of Ukraine, as well as norms of international law and Russia’s international obligations. ‘
Russia yesterday claimed more than 90 per cent of people in territories it occupies had voted to join the ‘motherland’, though there is little doubt the ballot was rigged
Moscow yesterday published the results of referendums that its troops staged in the occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia over the past week – claiming 90 per cent of people had voted to become part of Russia.
Videos of gun-toting Kremlin troops going door to door with ballot boxes have left little doubt over the validity of the votes, but it none-the-less marks an important moment because it gives Putin a pre-text to claim them as part of Russia.
The despot is expected to so on Friday when he addresses both houses of parliament, allowing him to spin the lie to his own people that Ukraine is now attacking Russian – rather than the other way around.
That then increases the suite of options he has to respond, including using nukes.
Putin threatened to deploy his nuclear arsenal last week, and his allies – including ex-President Dmitry Medvedev – have repeated it several times since.
Russia staged the referendums in the wake of a Ukrainian counter-attack to the east of Kharkiv that placed Putin firmly on the back foot and victory within its grasp.
The Kremlin now appears to be trying to regain momentum with a heady mix of threats and escalation.
Putin is expected to annex the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions to Russia in a speech to parliament on Friday (file image)
Annexing territory would allow Putin to claim that Ukraine is attacking Russia rather than the other way around, paving the way to escalate the war (file image, a Russian solider in Ukraine)
Aside from the referendums and nuclear sabre-rattling, Putin has also ordered the partial mobilisation of Russia’s population with the aim of shipping 300,000 new troops off to the frontlines.
That has sparked huge domestic unrest with protests erupting in multiple cities, and has seen thousands flee the country to avoid the draft.
Meanwhile videos have revealed the draftees are being given little training or equipment before being thrown on to the frontlines, with experts saying they are unlikely to change the course of the war.
But, rather than win outright, Putin appears to be trying to increase the cost of defeating him such that the West stops trying.
Against that backdrop, two explosions badly damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that run under the Baltic Sea yesterday – with Moscow the prime suspect.
However, Western leaders have so-far stopped short of directly blaming Russia as the attack caught them off-guard and evidence is still being gathered.
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