Voting begins in four sham referendums in Ukraine

Voting in sham referendums began in four mostly or partially occupied provinces of eastern and southern Ukraine—Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson—on the morning of September 23rd. Many of the Kremlin’s favourite tricks were deployed. In the city of Kherson the authorities delivered an unmarked ballot box to a central square, accompanied by two riflemen urging citizens to vote. Elsewhere in town, election officials went door-to-door with riot police. “Voting” has been recorded on park benches, in shops and even in makeshift booths in police stations better known locally as torture chambers. In Melitopol there have been reports of doors being broken down to facilitate the voting process. Locals describe empty streets and minimal enthusiasm. The result is not in doubt. The “vote count” will “reveal” that residents would love to be ruled by the invading power, Russia.

The Russian-backed administrations of the four provinces announced plans for the five-day plebiscites earlier this week, following months of rumour and counter-rumour. The haste with which they are being held makes it unlikely that the spectacle will convince even Russians of their legitimacy. But Ukrainian forces have made such startling advances on the battlefield in recent weeks that the Kremlin appears to have concluded that it had to act quickly. When it announces that the provinces have agreed to be annexed by Russia, it will be able to claim that Ukrainian attempts to recover Ukrainian land are in fact attacks on Russia itself.

Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, in Zaporizhia, says that Ukraine intended to ignore the “illegitimate” referendums. He adds that he was worried about the safety of Ukrainians living under occupation. Military-age men are particularly vulnerable. Immediately after the sham votes, Russia is expected to step up military mobilisation of Ukrainians in occupied territories, forcing them to fight against their compatriots. “Russia wants to conscript these men to turn them into cannon fodder,” he said. Volodymyr Mihalcencov, a 37-year-old from the occupied town of Enerhodar in Zaporizhia, confirms that Russian soldiers are no longer allowing men aged 18-35 to cross checkpoints into the rest of Ukraine. Luckily for him, he was just old enough to be allowed through.

There is no reliable opinion polling within the occupied territories—not least because most of their citizens have fled. Russian state broadcasting networks have published polling with wild claims of 80%-90% support for annexation. The final result, likely to be announced on September 27th, will probably be engineered close to those figures. Mr Fedorov claims that internal Russian polling, which he says was leaked to him, shows that fewer than 10% of residents are expected to take part. The Ukrainian government has urged its citizens to avoid the process altogether. Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential spokesman, said that anyone who assists with the pseudo-referendums could face criminal charges. “This is an attempt to create a parallel propaganda reality,” he says. “But for Ukraine, nothing changes. We will continue to liberate our territories regardless of Russian fantasies.” ■