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 referendums as a “sham” and say they won’t recognize the results.
According to Russian media outlets, 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 that occurs, 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.
“The situation will change radically from a legal perspective and from the perspective of international law, with all the relevant consequences for the purposes of protecting these regions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on the final day of polling.
On Sept. 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the call-up of 300,000 experienced army reservists for military service.
Kyiv and its Western allies, for their part, say the moves by Moscow amount to the de facto “annexation” of the four regions by Russia.
“This farce in the occupied territories cannot even be called an imitation of a referendum,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address after the poll results were announced.
The United States reportedly plans to table a draft resolution at the U.N. Security Council condemning the polls, urging member states to not recognize changes to Ukraine’s territorial status and demanding the full withdrawal of Russian troops from the country.
“Russia’s sham referenda, if accepted, will open a Pandora’s box that we cannot close,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Washington’s envoy to the United Nations, said on Sept. 27.
Russian forces and their local allies currently hold about 60 percent of Donetsk, which remains the scene of fierce fighting, and almost all of Luhansk. Moscow already recognizes both territories, which make up the Russian-speaking Donbas region, as independent republics.
Russian forces also currently control broad swaths of the southern Zaporizhzhia region and almost all of neighboring Kherson.
The four regions account for roughly 15 percent of Ukraine’s total territory.
‘Deliberate Disruption’ of Pipelines?
The final day of polling in Ukraine was accompanied by reports of gas leaks along Russia’s Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, the causes of which remain unknown.Both pipelines run under the Baltic Sea, linking gas fields in Russia to Germany and other European energy markets.
On Sept. 26, Danish authorities reported a gas leak emanating from Nord Stream 2. Soon afterward, Swedish authorities reported two similar leaks along Nord Stream 1.
“Breakage of gas pipelines is extremely rare,” the head of the Danish Energy Agency was cited as saying, noting that preparedness levels have been raised in response to the incidents.
Following warnings, aircraft and ships were ordered to maintain distances of at least five nautical miles from the vicinity of the leaks, which drove gas prices in Europe up by 12 percent on Sept. 28.
Both pipelines are deeply enmeshed in the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which last week entered its eighth month.
On Aug. 31, Russia cut gas flows through Nord Stream 1, citing “technical problems” caused by Western-led sanctions. The move has driven up energy prices across Europe, especially in Germany, prompting accusations that Russia has “weaponized” its energy exports.
The construction of Nord Stream 2, which was intended to augment the supply of Russian gas to Europe, has yet to be finalized. After Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Germany halted the project.
Seismologists in Denmark and Sweden claim to have registered two powerful blasts on Sept. 26, one of which measured 2.3 on the Richter scale, in areas where the leaks were later reported.
The reports prompted warnings in the German press of “a targeted attack on European gas infrastructure and gas markets.”
On Sept. 28, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, “All available information indicates those leaks are the result of a deliberate act,” and that “deliberate disruption” of Europe’s energy infrastructure would draw a “robust and united response.”
On the same day, Danish Defense Minister Morten Bodskov, following a meeting with the NATO leadership in Brussels, said, “Russia has a significant military presence in the Baltic Sea region; we expect them to continue their saber-rattling.”
Peskov described claims that Russia was culpable for the leaks as “predictable” and “stupid.”
“Do you remember the statements by the U.S. president made back in early February?” he asked. “Who promised then to get rid of Nord Stream 2?”
On Feb. 7, President Joe Biden vowed to halt operations of Nord Stream 2 if Russia invaded Ukraine.
Biden said at the time that if Russia invaded, “then there will be ... no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it. I promise you, we’ll be able to do it.”
White House officials didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
