"We have reports from people that the so-called 'voting commissions' coming to residences to record votes are accompanied by people with weapons.... The referendums have been condemned by Kyiv, Western leaders, and the United Nations as an illegitimate, choreographed precursor to illegal annexation. In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the vote a "sham" and undemocratic. Western officials and experts say Putin plans to use the sham referendums to claim Ukraine is invading territory that is part of Russia. Moscow has deported about 1.6 million Ukrainians from those regions to Russia, according to Western estimates, while also busing Russian citizens into Ukrainian territory.

Source: Libya Today September 23, 2022 00:04 UTC