Kremlin unmoved: Russia prepares to annex occupied Ukraine
Armed Russian troops collected ballots during five days of voting in Kremlin-organized referendums in Ukraine that asked if the occupied areas should become part of Russia. Western countries say the move is an attempt to justify Russia鈥檚 invasion.
A Russian recruit speaks to his wife and children outside a military recruitment center in Volzhskiy, Volgograd region, Russia, Sept. 28, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a partial mobilization of reservists to bolster his forces in Ukraine.
AP
Kyiv, Ukraine
Russia stood poised Wednesday to formally annex parts of Ukraine after claiming that voters in areas where it has military control had overwhelmingly endorsed living under Moscow鈥檚 rule.
Armed troops went door-to-door to collect ballots during five days of voting in Kremlin-organized referendums that asked if the occupied areas should become part of Russia. Western observers characterized the votes as a land grab by an increasingly cornered Russian leadership following a string of embarrassing military losses in Ukraine.
Moscow-installed administrations in the four regions of southern and eastern Ukraine claimed Tuesday night that their residents voted to join Russia in the so-called referendums.
鈥淔orcing people in these territories to fill out some papers at the barrel of a gun is yet another Russian crime in the course of its aggression against Ukraine,鈥� Ukraine鈥檚 Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry blasted the ballots as 鈥渁 propaganda show鈥� and 鈥渘ull and worthless.鈥�
Pro-Russia officials in Ukraine鈥檚 Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions moved quickly Wednesday, saying they would ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to incorporate the provinces into Russia. It wasn鈥檛 immediately clear how the administrative process would unfold.
Western countries, however, dismissed the ballots as a meaningless pretense staged by Moscow in an attempt to legitimize its invasion of Ukraine launched on Feb. 24.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said late Tuesday that Washington would propose a U.N. Security Council resolution to condemn Russia鈥檚 鈥渟ham鈥� vote.
The resolution would also urge member states not to recognize any altered status of Ukraine and demand that Russia withdraws its troops from its neighbor, she tweeted.
The European Union鈥檚 foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, also weighed in on the ballots on Wednesday, calling them 鈥渋llegal鈥� and describing the results as 鈥渇alsified.鈥�
鈥淭his is another violation of Ukraine鈥檚 sovereignty [and] territorial integrity, [amid] systematic abuses of human rights,鈥� Mr. Borrell tweeted.
Ukraine鈥檚 Foreign Ministry statement asked the EU, NATO, and the Group of Seven major industrial nations to 鈥渋mmediately and significantly鈥� step up pressure on Russia through new sanctions, and significantly increase their military aid to Ukraine.
According to Russia-installed election officials, 93% of the ballots cast in the Zaporizhzhia region supported annexation, as did 87% in the Kherson region, 98% in the Luhansk region, and 99% in Donetsk.
The Kremlin remained unmoved amid the hail of criticism, however. Its spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that at the very least Russia intended to drive Ukrainian forces out of the eastern Donetsk region, where Moscow鈥檚 troops and separatist forces currently control about 60% of the territory.
The EU also expressed outrage over the suspected sabotage Tuesday of two underwater natural gas pipelines from Russia to Germany and warned of retaliation for any attack on Europe鈥檚 energy networks.
Mr. Borrell said Wednesday that 鈥渁ll available information indicates those leaks are the result of a deliberate act,鈥� even though the perpetrators haven鈥檛 so far been identified.
鈥淎ny deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure is utterly unacceptable and will be met with a robust and united response,鈥� Mr. Borrell said in a statement on behalf of the EU鈥檚 27 member countries.
Mr. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said allegations that Russia could be behind the incidents were 鈥減redictable and stupid.鈥� He told reporters in a conference call that the damage has caused Russia huge economic losses.
The war in Ukraine has brought an energy standoff between the EU, many of whose members have for years relied heavily on Russian natural gas supplies, and Moscow.
The damage makes it unlikely the pipelines will be able to supply any gas to Europe this winter, according to analysts.
Meanwhile, Ukraine鈥檚 military and a Washington-based think tank said Wednesday that Russia is sending troops without any training to the front line.
Moscow has struggled to hold the line against Ukraine鈥檚 recent counteroffensive and has ordered a partial mobilization to replenish its ranks. The effort is causing unrest, however, amid a reluctant public.
In a daily briefing, the Ukraine military鈥檚 general staff said the 1st Tank Regiment of the 2nd Motorized Rifle Division of Russia鈥檚 1st Tank Army has received untrained new troops.
The Ukrainian military also said prison convicts are arriving in Ukraine to reinforce the Russian lines. It offered no evidence to support the claim, though the Ukrainian security services have released audio of allegedly monitored Russian phone conversations on the issue.
The Institute for the Study of War think tank cited one online video by a man who identified himself as a member of the 1st Tank Regiment, visibly upset, saying that he and his colleagues wouldn鈥檛 receive training before shipping out to the Russian-occupied region of Kherson in Ukraine.
鈥淢obilized men with a day or two of training are unlikely to meaningfully reinforce Russian positions affected by Ukrainian counteroffensives in the south and east,鈥� the institute said.
The U.K. ministry of defense said Ukraine鈥檚 counteroffensive, which has inflicted some humiliating defeats on Moscow鈥檚 forces, is advancing slowly.
It said Russia is currently putting up a stouter defense.
In the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, which is partially occupied by Moscow, Russian fire killed five people and wounded 10 others over the last 24 hours, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the local military authority.
Authorities in the southern Ukrainian city of Nikopol said Russian rockets and artillery pounded the city overnight.
The city, across the Dnipro River from Russian-occupied territory, saw 10 high-rises and private buildings hit, as well as a school, power lines, and other areas, said Valentyn Reznichenko, the head of the local military administration, said.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.