Ukrainian officials said people were banned from leaving some occupied areas until the referendums were over, claiming that armed groups were entering homes and employees being threatened with the sack if they did not participate.
Voting is being held in Russian-controlled areas of Donetsk and Lugansk in the east, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south, representing about 15 per cent of Ukrainian territory. Authorities are going door-to-door for four days to collect votes before polling stations open for a single day on Tuesday.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a nightly address that the votes would be “unequivocally condemned” by the world,“These are not just crimes against international law and Ukrainian law, these are crimes against specific people, against a nation,” Mr Zelensky said. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the military alliance would step up support for Ukraine in response to the referendums.
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