Ukrainian officials say residents of Russian-held regions ignore referendums organized by Kremlin-backed local authorities, but have acknowledged that in some cases, residents are forced to vote. The referendums, called Tuesday in four Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine, have been widely denounced by Western governments as a fraud and are being held with little or no international observers beyond delegations from Russia. “There is no referendum as such. It’s a fake. Locals ignore it. Some people are just forced to vote. There were busloads of people brought from Crimea to vote,” said Andriy Yusov, an official of the Ukrainian Intelligence Service. CNN. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said it had uncovered documents showing the separatist-backed Donetsk People’s Republic planned to expand the electorate by involving teenagers under 18 in the vote. In order to strengthen “turnout” control, Donetsk officials decided that minors should be accompanied to polling stations by parents, guardians or representatives of so-called orphanages, the SBU added. Pro-Russian officials in the occupied territories are enthusiastically promoting the referendums as a historic change. “Today is a day that happens in history once every few centuries. I personally knew it would happen, always. I always felt that I was part of a huge family called Russia. Dreams came true,” Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-backed head of the administration of the Kherson region, he said on his Telegram channel. As he cast his vote, Saldo said he was confident that as part of the Russian Federation, “our Kherson region and, above all, its people will be protected. It is protected in every way.” The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, also voted, saying: “I feel awe and confidence that what we fought for so long is finally coming true. This is the return home. Return to great Russia. History is being made today.” Voting continues until Tuesday.
