Ukraine: what we know about the "referendums" of annexation by Russia which begin this Friday

Under the fire of international criticism, Russia has urgently prepared annexation votes scheduled from Friday in four regions of southern and eastern Ukraine.

These "sham" referendums, according to the West, are supposed to run until Tuesday, when Ukraine enters its 8th month of war.

Where and how will the “referendums” take place?

In the east, the separatist regions of

and

, which form the Donbass basin, will be put to the vote.

The Donetsk electoral body indicated that "for security reasons", the ballot would be organized almost door-to-door, "in front of homes" for four days, with polling stations opening "only on the last day". , which is September 27.

In the south, the areas under Russian occupation in the regions of

and

are concerned.

"The vote starts tomorrow and nothing can prevent it," the head of the occupation administration of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, told Russian television on Thursday.

The former Russian president and number two of the country's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, assured him on Telegram that the separatist regions of Lugansk and Donetsk, as well as Kherson and Zaporijjia, "will integrate Russia".

“The results will vary between 90 and 97% of votes for annexation.

Everything will be rigged.

There will be no international observer and these referendums will not be recognized as legal, ”explained Wednesday to the Parisian Lukas Aubin, director of research at Iris, specialist in the geopolitics of Russia.

When were they announced?

These votes, on the model of the one which formalized the annexation of the Crimean peninsula (South) by Russia in 2014, denounced by kyiv and the West, have been the subject of preparations for several months.

The timetable seems to have accelerated with the Ukrainian counter-offensive which forced the Russian army to retreat to the northeast of the country.

Russian officials had previously mentioned the date of November 4, the day of Russian national unity.

Separatist leaders in Lugansk were the first to announce on Tuesday that the polls would take place this week, over four days from Friday.

They were followed by the separatist leader of Donetsk and the occupation leaders of Kherson and Zaporizhia.

All asked Vladimir Putin to recognize the results of the vote.

How does Ukraine respond?

Ukraine immediately warned that the Russian threat would be "liquidated", the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriï Iermak, denouncing Russian "blackmail" motivated by "fear of defeat".

The head of diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba for his part assured that Ukraine would "continue to liberate its lands".

Read alsoUkrainian close to Putin, soldiers from Azov … What we know about the exchange of prisoners between kyiv and Moscow

The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has minimized the importance of these “referendums”.

There was “pretty loud news today from Russia.

But what happened?

What was new compared to what has already been said before?

he wondered on Tuesday.

“Our position does not change based on this noise or any other announcement,” added the head of state, calling for “maintaining pressure” on Russia.

And the international community?

The announcement of these elections caused an international outcry.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz judged that "these fictitious referendums" were "not acceptable".

The United States denounced "sham" elections, while President Emmanuel Macron castigated before the United Nations General Assembly "a return to the age of imperialisms and colonies", shortly after describing the announced polls as "parody".

China, close to Moscow, has also issued criticism, calling for respect for the territorial integrity of states.

Turkey, which has been engaged since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine in a delicate balancing act between kyiv and Moscow, has also condemned these “illegitimate” annexation referendums.