Four Ukrainian regions to vote on joining Russia

The Russian-controlled regions in southern and eastern Ukraine on Tuesday rolled out plans to start voting this week on whether to join Russia. Western countries are unlikely to recognize the referendums as legitimate. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the votes a sham and said that Ukraine would liberate its territories. Speaking from the UN General Assembly in New York, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was very clear the “sham referendums” were unacceptable.

Why the referendums now? Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council and former president of Russia, said the referendums would make the regions into parts of Russia. He said, “an encroachment on the territory of Russia is a crime that would warrant any means of self-defense.” Medvedev also said that Russia would enshrine the new territories in its constitution so no future Russian leader could hand them back.

Dig deeper: Read Jill Nelson’s report in WORLD magazine about the quest to hold Russia accountable for war crimes in Ukraine.