Ukraine: Voting has begun for the referendums in the occupied pro-Russian regions

They started this morning at Ukrainian regions controlled in whole or in part by Moscow the referendums integration into Russiaas reported by the Russian media, a vote which Ukraine and the West have called it a “fake referendum”.

The process, which started at 08:00 (local and Greek time) and is expected to last until September 27, is being held in the separatist, pro-Russian provinces Donetsk and Luhansk (in eastern Ukraine) as well as in the Russian-occupied areas in the provinces Kherson and Zaporizhia.

NATO: They lack legitimacy and will be a flagrant violation of the UN Charter

The NATO announced that it is never going to recognize the referendums which are going to be conducted by Russian speakers in the east Ukraineas they aim for formal union with Russia.

“The mock referendums in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson lack legitimacy and would be a flagrant violation of the UN Charter» says the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s main political decision-making body, in a statement.

“NATO allies will not recognize the illegal annexation (of territory). These lands are Ukrainian,” the same statement underlines.

Putin insists on nuclear threat

Russia has “many weapons to respond” to what he called threats from the West, the Russian president stressed Vladimir Putin, emphasizing that he is “not bluffing” and accusing the West of engaging in nuclear blackmail against his country. All this in his speech in which he announced partial mobilization in Russia. Yesterday the nuclear threats continued from Moscow, with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stating that any weapons in Moscow’s arsenal, including strategic nuclear weaponscan be used to defend Ukrainian territories that will be incorporated into Russia.

Medvedev, the vice president of Russia’s Security Council, said the referendums, which are being organized by Russian-appointed administrations and separatist authorities in large Russian-held parts of Ukrainian territory, would take place and that there was “no going back.”

“The republics of Donbass (Donetsk and Luhansk) and other territories will be accepted into Russia.”

Medvedev said that the protection of all territories will be significantly strengthened by the Russian armed forces and added: “Russia has announced that not only military capabilities, but also any Russian weapons, including strategic nuclear weapons and weapons based on new principles, may be used for this protection’.

Referendums in Russian-held parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson and Zaporizhia provinces, as well as a part of Mykolayiv province, are widely expected to overwhelmingly approve joining Russia.

The votes, held just days after they were announced and under military occupation, have been denounced as sham referendums by Kyiv and its Western allies.

If formally admitted to the Russian Federation, the occupied territories, where Ukrainian counterattacks have gained momentum in recent weeks, would be entitled, under Moscow’s nuclear doctrine, to protection from Russian nuclear weapons.

Moscow does not fully control any of the four regions it is expected to try to annex, with only about 60% of Donetsk region and 66% of Zaporizhia held by the Russian military.

Medvedev has often made aggressive statements against the West and Ukraine in recent months, underscoring his transformation from a liberal, Western-minded politician as president in 2008-2012 to a geopolitical “hawk.”