Live: Referendums on Russian annexation begin in occupied Ukraine territory

Issued on: 23/09/2022 – 06:56Modified: 23/09/2022 – 07:02

7:11am: Referendums on Russian annexation start in occupied Ukraine territory

Moscow-held regions of Ukraine begin voting Friday on whether to become part of Russia, in referendums that Kyiv and its allies have condemned as an unlawful land grab.

The referendums in eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions, as well as in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions have been roundly dismissed as a sham by Kyiv’s Western allies.

6:24am: Four Ukraine regions prepare to hold referendums on joining Russia

Four areas of Ukraine controlled by Russia and pro-Moscow forces were preparing to hold referendums on Friday on joining Russia, votes widely condemned by the West as illegitimate and a precursor to illegal annexation.

Russian-installed leaders on Tuesday announced plans for the ballots, a challenge to the West that could sharply escalate the war. The results are seen as a foregone conclusion in favour of annexation, and Ukraine and its allies have made clear they will not recognise the outcomes.

Voting in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces, representing about 15% of Ukrainian territory, is due to run from Friday to Tuesday.

Ukraine this month launched a counteroffensive that has recaptured large swathes of territory, seven months after Russia invaded and launched a war that has killed thousands, displaced millions and damaged the global economy. The referendums had been discussed for months by pro-Moscow authorities but Ukraine’s recent victories prompted a scramble by officials to schedule them.

3:27am: Russian men fleeing draft arrive in Turkey

Turkey is a relatively straightforward destination for Russians, who can still obtain three-month tourist visas at the airport. Many of the men fleeing the draft don’t know if they’ll return. FRANCE 24’s Shona Bhattacharyya reports from Istanbul:

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(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)