Russia begins referendums in four regions of Ukraine; Ukraine and Weste

Moscow: Referendums have begun in four Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine. Voting has started in Luhansk and Donetsk, part of the Donbas region, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russia said that voting would continue till the 27th of next week. Western countries, including Ukraine, have criticized the referendum process as a sham and warned that the international community would never recognize it. Ukraine has launched attacks in Donetsk and Kherson regions while the referendum is underway. Ukraine accused Russia of carrying out attacks in the Port of Odesa using Iranian drones.

Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the issue of the security of citizens of Russian origin in the Donbas region and other parts of Ukraine when he launched a military campaign in Ukraine seven months ago. Putin had said that the Ukrainian regime was oppressing the Russian-speaking people, and Russia had to take military action for their safety. Russia has taken complete control of Luhansk province in Donbas in seven months. More than 70 per cent of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in southern Ukraine, including Donetsk, are under Russian control. Ukraine launched a counteroffensive last month to retake the area. Although it has had success in the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine, it has had little influence in other areas.

However, considering the possibility of Ukraine increasing the intensity of counter-attacks, Russia has started moving rapidly. Russia appears to have taken the referendum step to gain complete control over the territories along the Russia-Ukraine border, which they captured during the military campaign. In 2014, even after Russia annexed Crimea, it tightened its grip through a referendum. It seems that Putin is preparing to repeat the same and annexe four provinces of Ukraine to Russia. Putin’s move has drawn aggressive reactions from Western countries, including Ukraine.

Ukraine as well as Western countries have criticized the referendum as a sham. Ukraine accused the Russian military of going door-to-door to pressure citizens on the referendum. The Ukrainian government urged Ukrainian citizens to oppose the process, which Russia is forcefully carrying out. Britain and NATO have warned that the international community will never recognize the referendum being implemented in the regions of Ukraine.

Voting for the referendum started on Friday. At the same time, the Ukrainian army has launched significant attacks in Donetsk and Kherson regions. The scope of the attacks is believed to have intensified to cause difficulties in the referendum conducted by Russia. At the same time, Russia is also said to have launched attacks in Donetsk and southern Ukraine. Russia has launched a drone attack on Ukraine’s Odesa port, and Ukraine has claimed that Iranian drones were used for it.