‘Join Russia’ referendums begin in Ukraine’s occupied regions; ‘illegitimate’, says West

Polls Also Opened In Russia For Refugees To Cast Their Ballot

Voting opened on Friday on whether Russian-held regions of Ukraine should become part of Russia, referendums that Ukrainian officials and their allies condemned as an illegitimate attempt by Moscow to annex areas its forces have occupied during nearly seven months of war. As the balloting got under way, United Nations experts and Ukrainian officials pointed to new evidence of war crimes in Ukraine.

The Kremlin-orchestrated referendums in the Luhansk, Kherson and partly Russiancontrolled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions ask residents if they want the areas to be part of Russia. The voting overseen by Moscow-installed authorities, scheduled to run through Tuesday, is almost certain to go the Kremlin’s way.

Ukraine and the West have denounced the polls as a sham and an illegitimate step toward annexation. Election officials planned to bring ballots to people’s homes and setting up makeshift polling stations near residential buildings during the first four days of voting, according to Russian-installed officials in the occupied regions, who cited safety reasons.