The Russian occupiers have announced the first results of the mock referendums. A speech by Zelenskyj before the UN Security Council was not vetoed. The Ukrainian President announces the “liberation” of the occupied territories. All voices and developments on the Ukraine war here in the ticker.
Wednesday, September 28, 2022, 7:38 a.m.: Despite the sham referendums held by the Russian occupiers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced the recapture of the affected areas of his country. In his video address to the UN Security Council, Selenskyj described the referenda as a farce. “We are moving forward and liberating our country!” Shortly before, the occupation administrations deployed by Moscow in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions had said that the people there had spoken out in favor of joining Russia.
After counting all the votes, 99.2 percent of the voters in Donetsk agreed, said the occupation administration there. According to Russian information, it was more than 98 percent in Luhansk, more than 93 percent in Zaporizhia and more than 87 percent in Cherson. Thus, an unprecedented annexation of the territories is likely to begin in the coming days.
The mock referendums, which have been held for a total of five days since last Friday amid widespread international protest, are not recognized worldwide because they were held in violation of Ukrainian and international laws and without minimum democratic standards. In the past few days, observers had pointed to numerous cases in which residents of the occupied territories had been forced to vote.
10:56 p.m .: Ukraine blames Russia for the leaks in the two Nord Stream pipelines. “This is nothing more than an act of terrorism planned by Russia and an act of aggression against the EU,” Ukraine’s presidential office external adviser Mykhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. Moscow wants to destabilize the economic situation in Europe and create “panic before winter”.
The best “investment in security” is now tanks for Ukraine, Podolyak demanded. “Especially German …”, emphasized the 50-year-old. Until a few years ago, Ukraine was still the main transit country for Russian natural gas to the European Union.
9:59 p.m .: The veto power Russia has made no attempt to prevent a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the UN Security Council. On Tuesday, the representatives of Moscow refrained from requesting a corresponding vote in the most powerful UN body. This allowed Selenskyj to speak on the subject of the sham referendums in Russian-occupied areas in eastern Ukraine, with which Moscow wants to push the annexation of the areas.
In the speech he then warned against the destruction of international diplomacy by Russia. Moscow’s representatives did not use weapons in the UN Security Council, Zelenskyy said on Tuesday via video link. “But surely nobody will be surprised if this role of the UN Security Council turns into a zone of violence on the part of the representatives of Russia.” It is only a matter of time before Moscow destroys the last functioning international institution, he warned.
9:47 p.m.: After the conclusion of mock referendums in several Ukrainian regions, the Russian occupiers presented an alleged overwhelming approval of the local population for annexation to Russia. After counting all the votes, more than 98 percent of voters approved in Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, more than 93 percent in Zaporizhia in the south and more than 87 percent in Cherson, also in the south, the occupation administrations said on Tuesday evening.
In Donetsk, the evaluation of the vote, which violated international law, was not yet complete, but according to preliminary information, the approval rating was already given as almost 95 percent. Thus, an unprecedented annexation of the territories is likely to begin in the coming days.
The mock referendums are not recognized worldwide because they are held in violation of Ukrainian and international laws and without minimum democratic standards. Over the past few days, observers have pointed to numerous cases in which Ukrainian residents of the occupied territories have been forced to vote.
8:31 p.m .: Russian men who want to leave their country via the Georgian border crossing at Verkhnii Lars will be given draft papers there. This was reported by the Russian state news service Ria Novosti.
Referring to the press office of the regional government of North Ossetia, where the border crossing is located, the news agency said that “working groups were organized at the entrances to the republic and at the Verkhnii Lars checkpoint.” These consist of representatives of the military registration, the muster office and the police. “The task of the task forces is to hand out letters to conscripts according to the lists of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.”
Earlier in the day, Ria reported that only North Ossetian citizens would receive draft papers. Regional Prime Minister Sergei Menyailo has now announced that the order has been extended to all men who could be recruited as part of the partial mobilization.
According to the announcement by the Georgian government, the number of Russians coming to Georgia has doubled since partial mobilization was announced. Miles of traffic jams formed at the borders.
7:37 p.m .: More people live in Germany than ever before. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of inhabitants rose to over 84 million in the first half of 2022. Compared to the end of 2021, this represents a population growth of 1.0 percent.
The population growth is primarily due to Ukrainians seeking protection who are fleeing to Germany from the war in their homeland. According to preliminary results, the net immigration of Ukrainians amounted to around 1.0 million people. In the first half of 2021, only 134,000 and thus seven times fewer people came to Germany from Ukraine.
The proportion of women in the population has also risen noticeably by 1.2 percent. This corresponds to 526,000 people and can be explained by the fact that Ukrainian women and children in particular are fleeing to Germany. Meanwhile, the number of men in the German population rose by only 0.8 percent and thus by 317,000 people.
3:57 p.m .: The Russian occupiers have declared the sham referendums in several Ukrainian regions to be over and presented the first results of the votes that violate international law. After the first ballots were counted at polling stations in Russia, more than 97 percent of voters from the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia voted in favor of their home regions joining Russia, Russian agencies reported on Tuesday.
There was initially no information from polling stations in the occupied territories themselves. Ukrainian refugees in Russia have also been called to vote since last Friday. An unprecedented wave of annexations is therefore likely to begin this week.
The mock referendums are not recognized worldwide because they are held in violation of Ukrainian and international laws and without minimum democratic standards. Over the past few days, observers have pointed to numerous cases in which Ukrainian residents of the occupied territories have been forced to vote.
In a next step, it is expected that the occupation administrations deployed by Moscow will officially apply to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin for admission to Russian territory. The Kremlin had indicated that this could happen quickly. Before the start of the sham referendum, Putin had emphasized that the areas would then be completely under the protection of the nuclear power Russia.
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