Ukraine regions under Russian control hold ‘referendums’ on joining Russia

Russia has launched ‘referendums’ aimed at taking back four under-control parts of Ukraine in a bid to make them part of Russia.

Luhansk, Kherson and partly Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions have all been targeted.

However, Kyiv and Western nations have condemned it, with Zelensky describing it as ‘crime against international law’.

Russian state TV showed those handing out the ballots accompanied by a masked police officer carrying an assault rifle - but they insist it was for ‘safety’.

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