Four Ukrainian provinces have overwhelmingly voted to join the Russian Federation, official Russian sources announced on Sept. 28 following five days of polling.
Most western capitals describe the polls as a “sham” and say they will not recognize the results.
According to Russian media, 99 percent of voters in the Donetsk region voted in favor of integration with Russia, as did 98 percent in Luhansk, 93 percent in Zaporizhzhia, and 83 percent in Kherson.
In recent days, Russian officials have said that the four regions’ integration into Russia could be officially ratified as soon as Sept. 30.
Once this happens, Moscow has made it clear that it will consider the regions part of Russia, and that attacks on them—by Ukrainian forces or others—would be construed as attacks on Russian territory….