New Zealand has joined its Western allies in denouncing the “sham” referenda held in four Ukrainian regions to join the Russian Federation. “These so-called referenda were not free or fair, and they very clearly were not held in accordance with democratic principles,” Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said. Russian sources have reported that the results of…

KYIV, Ukraine—Ukrainians who help Russian-backed referendums to annex large swathes of the country will face treason charges and at least five years in jail, Ukraine’s presidential adviser said. “We have lists of names of people who have been involved in some way,” presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Blick. “We…

Russia launched referendums on Friday aimed at annexing four occupied regions of Ukraine. Voting in the provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia in the east and southeast, representing about 15 percent of Ukrainian territory, was due to run from Friday to Tuesday. Over 20.5 percent of voters eligible to vote in the Zaporizhzhia region…

A Kremlin-orchestrated referendum got underway Friday in four occupied regions of Ukraine that sought to make them part of Russia. The move drew condemnation from Kyiv and Western nations who dismissed the votes as a sham and pledged not to recognize their results. Voting in the provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia in the east…

Commentary In 1967, 55 years ago, a referendum was held in Australia to allow a change to the Constitution that would remove the last impediment to the recognition of our Aboriginal people as full citizens. Australians are slow to accept constitutional changes: we have held 44 referenda since federation, but only eight of them returned…