Referenda on joining Russia began in Donbass

Voting in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DNR and LNR), as well as in the Russian-controlled Kherson region and part of the Zaporozhye region of Ukraine began on September 23 at 8:00 Moscow time.

The referenda will last five days in person, remote and electronic voting is not provided. The polling stations will close on September 27, and already on September 28, the authorities promise to present the preliminary results of the voting.

“In the first four days, they will vote not at polling stations, but in adjacent territories and by targeted bypassing of residents”, - Kommersant notes.

Refugees from these regions who are in Russia will be able to vote at their place of residence. The number of internally displaced persons in Russia who arrived from the territory of hostilities in Ukraine is estimated by the UN at 2.7 million people.

The authorities of the DPR called the referendum a "long-awaited event", for which residents had been hoping for 8 years. Such a message is contained in the appeal of the head of the DNR, Denis Pushilin, circulated in social networks.

Pushilin expressed confidence "in a positive result" and called what is happening "the culmination of our common difficult path".

At the same time, the NATO countries stated that they did not intend to recognize the results of these referendums. After their completion, the US and the EU plan to introduce new economic sanctions against the Russian Federation. The authorities of Ukraine reported that the participants of the referendums would be imprisoned.