Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, commenting on the referendum on joining Russia in the republics of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, indicated that “in response to the ongoing escalation, we intend to introduce new sanctions against individuals and entities involved in this latest attempt” undermine the principles of state sovereignty.

In his statement, he stressed that Canada “does not and will never recognize” the results of this referendum.

Electoral commissions in the regions of the referendum on joining Russia in the south and east of Ukraine announced the final results of the vote count.

According to the election commission of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the count of all votes cast in the referendum on joining Russia showed that 99.23 percent of those who voted were in favor of joining.

For her part, the head of the Central Election Commission of the Lugansk People’s Republic, Elena Kravchenko, said that 98.54% of voters voted for joining Russia.

The Electoral Commission of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine announced that 87.05% of the region’s voters voted in favor of joining Russia.

As for the head of the CEC of the Zaporozhye region, he pointed out that after counting all the votes, 93.11% of voters voted for joining Russia.