The President of Ukraine on Tuesday dismissed the news that pro-Russian authorities in several regions of eastern Ukraine will hold a referendum on joining the Russian Federation between September 23 and 27.
“Today there is high-level news from Russia. There are many questions about this. But what really happened? What did we hear that we haven’t heard before?” asked the Ukrainian leader. In his usual speech, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine’s position has not changed and that the only concern should be the task at hand, that is, ensuring more support for all institutions that contribute to restoring territorial integrity.
Our positions don’t change because of noise or an announcement somewhere. And we enjoy the full support of our partners in this.”
This Tuesday, the pro-Russian local administrations of Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson confirmed, almost all at the same time, that they will hold referendums and hope that the results will be favorable to integration with Russia.
Various reactions to the announcement came from Ukraine, following the same line advocated by Zelensky that nothing will change. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba assured that the Armed Forces will continue to liberate the territory “regardless of what Russia has to say.” Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak described the referendums as a reaction to Russian defeats and the Russian president’s loss of influence.
There were also several international voices that were raised against the referendums. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the “dummy” vote was unacceptable and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced the move as a clear violation of international law. The United States and NATO consider this a sign of Russia’s weakness.
Following the announcement, French President Emmanuel Macron asked to speak by phone with the utmost urgency with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, advanced the NEXTA agency. The head of state called plans for annexation referendums with Russia “cynical” and a “parody” that the international community will never recognize as legitimate.
Macron urgently requested a telephone conversation with Putin. pic.twitter.com/QaC0kXuyF2
— NEXT (@nexta_tv) September 20, 2022
Source: Observadora
