Russian annexation ‘referendums’ were held on Friday in four regions of Ukraine wholly or partly controlled by Moscow, polls condemned as ‘fictitious’ by G7 leaders, who vowed to ‘never’ recognize.
At the same time, the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of Russian reservists continued in Russia, the Kremlin seeking the parade with the advances of the Ukrainian army which, strong of the deliveries of Western weapons, claimed new territorial gains Friday.
US President Joe Biden has promised a “swift and severe” response to any annexations in Ukraine by Russia.
In a joint statement, the G7 countries (Germany, Canada, United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom) had previously called on “all countries to unequivocally reject these fictitious referendums”, “sham” which ” have neither legal effect nor legitimacy”.
On the side of the UN, a commission of inquiry has recognized that “war crimes have been committed in Ukraine”, referring in particular to Russian bombardments on civilian areas, executions, acts of torture, ill-treatment, as well as than sexual violence.
Ukraine also announced that it had exhumed 447 bodies from a mass burial site in Izium, a town recaptured from the Russians in the northeast, including 30 with “signs of torture” such as bound hands, broken limbs or “amputated genitals”.
International criticism did not prevent Moscow from pursuing its plans for “referendums” in Ukraine.
The votes, which began at 8:00 a.m. (1:00 a.m. in Quebec), will end on September 27 in the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk (east), and in areas under Russian occupation in the Kherson regions. and Zaporizhia (south).
Peace after the referendums?
Hundreds of polling stations must be opened in the four territories, as well as others in Russia to allow the displaced to vote.
“We hope that after the referendum, they will stop bombing us, that we will have peace and order,” Vladimir Chotov, from the Luhansk region and who came to vote at the Donetsk representation, told AFP. in Moscow.
In Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities, authorities staged demonstrations in support of the votes with flags and slogans.
“These referendums are a step towards this peace,” said Viktor Suvorov, 40, present at the Moscow rally, a stone’s throw from Red Square.
In Ukraine, in Chevchenkové, the Ukrainian official Andriï Kanachevitch protested to AFP against “illegal” elections. “To be honest, it sucks,” he said.
Without going so far as to denounce the polls, China, Moscow’s closest partner, nevertheless went there with its criticism, calling for respect for “the territorial integrity of all countries”.
Iran, for its part, found itself in the crosshairs of the Ukrainian authorities, who blame it for its arms deliveries to Moscow and in particular drones, which killed one person in a Russian attack on the port of Odessa on Friday.
Criticizing “hostile” behavior, Kyiv decided to withdraw accreditation from the Iranian ambassador to Ukraine and to “significantly reduce” the staff of the Iranian embassy in Kyiv.
Ukrainian earnings
On the ground, Ukraine claimed Friday the capture of Yatskivka, in the Donetsk region (east). She also says she advanced south of Bakhmout, an eastern town that the Russian army has been trying to take for months without success.
On the separatist side, the head of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, spoke of an “extremely difficult” situation north of his city.
In the Luhansk region, another separatist official, Andrei Marochko, reported on Ukrainian bombardments, noting that kyiv forces “want to do everything to derail the referendum”.
The hasty announcement of these elections was accompanied by that, Wednesday, by Mr. Putin of the immediate mobilization of at least 300,000 reservists. He also threatened to use all of Russia’s arsenal, which includes nuclear weapons.
If television broadcast almost no images of the mobilization, several videos on social networks showed men with closed faces getting on buses after kissing their loved ones, some in tears.
“Tomorrow you go to war”
Reached by AFP, Konstantin, 29, said he received his summons at his parents’ home. “I’m still in shock,” he said. “I’m not going to hide, but I’m not jumping for joy either. »
Others were given a summons after being arrested during demonstrations against the mobilization on Wednesday.
“I expected the [procédures] usual: the arrest, the police station, the court. But to hear oneself say: “Tomorrow you are going to war”, […] that was a surprise,” Mikhail Suetin, 29, who refused to sign the document, told AFP.
The announcement of the mobilization also prompted many Russians to leave the country, causing an influx at the borders, without it being possible to quantify the extent of the phenomenon.
Finland has decided to take measures to “significantly” limit the entry of Russian citizens on its soil, while the Baltic countries and Poland have already been drastically curbing entry for weeks.