Western reactions multiplied on Tuesday to denounce the annexation referendums organized by Russia in four Ukrainian regions.
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A unanimous “no” to the “yes” of the ballot boxes for referendums “illegal”. Tuesday, September 27, the Russian Electoral Commission announced that the annexation referendums organized in four Ukrainian regions gave the “yes” at the top of the partial results. In response, and as they had already formulated, several Western organizations and countries denounced these elections.
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This is for example the case of NATO. Its secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, forcefully denounced the annexation referendums and assured the Ukrainian president of the allies’ support for Ukraine’s right to self-defense. “The sham referendums organized by Russia have no legitimacy and are a flagrant violation of international law. These lands are Ukraine”does he have tweeted (link in English) after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, meanwhile said that the United States and its allies will not “will never recognize” the annexation by Russia of territories in Ukraine. The head of American diplomacy also reaffirmed that Western countries would retaliate for new and “severe” sanctions against Russia.
In tune with her American counterpart, the French Foreign Minister felt that these referendums were “a masquerade” : “There is no sincerity in the votes that may have been cast”said Catherine Colonna, head of French diplomacy on BFMTV. “They have no legitimacy, no value. We will not recognize them, they will lead to sanctions from France, Europe and other states in the international community.” Earlier in the day, from Kyiv, the minister assured that these sanctions should be both “individual” and directed “to sectors that were not yet under sanctions” so far.
“There will be consequences for everyone who took part in the organization”also assured a spokesperson for the European Union during a press conference in Brussels (Belgium), in the afternoon, while the Twenty-Seven have already adopted seven sections of restrictions.