Separatists in Ukraine set 'referendums' on annexation of occupied territories | Ukraine latest

Ukraine said its troops are continuing to make gains moving eastward toward the Russian-occupied Donbas region, setting the stage for a push to potentially recapture parts of Luhansk province. Ukraine's Luhansk provincial Governor Serhiy Gaidai said Ukrainan troops had retaken the village of Bilohorivka, a suburb 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of the city of Lysychansk, which fell to Russian forces after fierce fighting in July. Although the reports could not be independently verified, the capture of Bilohorivka would mean Russia no longer has full control of Luhansk province. Lysychansk was the last Ukrainian city in Luhansk to fall after the Russian summer offensive in the region, which had been touted as a major victory by Moscow. Gaidai said Ukrainian forces are preparing to take the remainder of Luhansk province from Russian occupiers. "There will be fighting for every centimeter," Gaidai wrote on Telegram. "The enemy is preparing their defense. So we will not simply march in," he added. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian troops were gaining ground as Russian soldiers abandoned territory. "The occupiers are clearly in a panic," Zelenskyy said in a televised address late on Monday, adding that he was now focused on "speed" in liberated areas. On Tuesday, Russian-installed officials in Luhansk claimed that a Ukrainian strike on Krasnorichenske, a village some 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Lysychansk, killed seven civilians.
On Tuesday, Russia-backed separatists in the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) said they will hold a referendum on joining Russia between September 23-27, according to Russia's TASS news agency. Shortly thereafter, the neighboring Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said it would also stage a similar referendum on the same dates. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that it is up to the people living in the "respective territories to decide their fate." Earlier Tuesday, Russia's former president and current head of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said it is "essential" that the separatist Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics hold referendums in order to join the Russian Federation.
Medvedev said on social media that joining Russia would be vital to protecting their interests because it could further justify Russia's use of military force against Ukrainian troops in the Donbas. The comments come as Vyacheslav Volodin, head of the Duma, said Moscow will support the citizens of the Donbas if they decide to join Russia. Only three countries recognize the two self-declared republics as independent: Russia, Syria and North Korea. Moscow-backed leaders in the Russian-occupied Kherson region of southern Ukraine and pro-Russia activists in the partly-occupied Zaporizhzhia region also plan to hold speedy referendums on joining Russia. In Kherson, the strategic port city that is the westernmost point of Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine, Russian-installed leader Vladimir Saldo urged Moscow to green-light a local referendum so that Kherson could become "a part of Russia, a fully-fledged subject of a united country."
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#Luhansk #Donesk #Kherson

[@dwnews]

In an earlier version of this thumbnail we accidentally used the German spelling of "Donetsk" and "Kherson". We are sorry for this error.

[@FunkcijaDijagonale]

Referendum result: 99.999%, all the citizens love the people who bombed them

[@theamazingmarlbito6293]

You mean the people that were moved in after the region was annexed want to stay with the people that relocated them there? Real shock 🙄

[@oleksandrdemchyshyn2452]

Ukrainian army will definitely attend this "referendum" !!!!

[@jacobluna305]

So, can Finland hold referendums to take lands back from Russia?

[@detook]

These are not separatist regions. This land is occupied by Russia and temporary controlled by russians.

[@yeahbutytho126]

Ethnic cleanse an area of millions of people then move in your own people, stand at the voting box with a kalashnikov and then have a referendum. Then cry you are being unfairly treated when no one believes you.

[@elite_dc3529]

I have just conducted a referendum to declare half my neighbour’s back garden as my own, I assure you all my neighbour definitely had a say in this 👍🏻

[@user-kr4uv2jt1w]

Russia may claim that Russia can use tactical nuclear weapons if the territory of Russia will be invaded. So, referendums will be held to make some occupied regions become the territory of Russia. Many people had warned about the idea.

[@trmon8890]

Just held a referendum that territories in Russia have voted to join Finland. Russia needs to succeed all the territory from north of St Petersburg to Finland. 😁

[@u.p.1038]

Someone should make a referendum in Moscow to join Ukraine.

[@danylovaskiv1944]

These regions never planned joining Ruzzia. Neither did Crimea.

[@malenlhewig]

Kherson is not a separatist region, its temporary occupied

[@Vladishit_Putler]

Wasn't the "special operation" meant to "denazify" Ukraine?

[@russellwest8767]

Kherson is not a “Seperatist Region” it’s occupied territory (edited because some people are reading the word “conquered” as pro-Putin)

[@Mooorino]

The Mongols want their territory back from Russia!

[@grumpybird2661]

God bless Donetsk,Kherson, Luhansk!!! Sending prayers and ❤ from Canada. Congratulations and I pray for your continued safety and I pray the shelling from Ukraine stops now.

[@hybridarmyoffreeworld]

Send Ukrainians everything they need to reclaim 2014 borders. Slava Ukraine ! with Love From Sweden

[@unrealversum7729]

Nobody asks how it will turn out because the Kremel has already decided it 🤣 such a vote is worth nothing and is useless if you can't hold the area.

[@envysart797]

They don’t even have control of all of Luhansk, how are you going to have a referendum?