Referendum in Kherson to continue despite deadly Ukrainian shelling

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The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Ambassador to Moscow Olga Makeeva highlighted Sunday that more than 230,000 citizens of the DPR have cast their votes on Russian land since the start of the ongoing referendum on the republic's accession to the Russian Federation.

According to Makeeva, roughly 1,000 of the citizens voted on the territory of the DPR representative office.

"If we talk about the citizens of the Donetsk People's Republic, then over a thousand people voted on the territory of the embassy over the past two days. If we talk about the entire Russian Federation, then around 236,000 citizens of the Donetsk People's Republic voted on the territory of Russia over the past two days," Makeeva mentioned in an interview for Soloviev Live TV channel.

The Ambassador pointed out that 20 voting stations have been organized in Moscow, adding that over 55% of DPR citizens voted in the ongoing referendum over the past two days.

93% of Zaporozhye citizens support joining Russia: Poll

In the same context, the result of a poll conducted by the Crimean Republican Institute for Political and Sociological Research revealed that a total of 93% of the citizens of Zaporozhye Region who cast their votes on the first day of the referendum support joining the Russian Federation.

The institute indicated that "500 residents of the region were polled on the first day of the referendum voting, on September 23, 2022. Of those participating in the referendum and replying the question 93% supported the Zaporozhye Region’s joining the Russian Federation, while 7% supported the Ukrainian status of the region."

Referendum in Kherson to continue despite Ukrainian shelling

The referendum on joining Russia in the Kherson Region will continue as planned and will be completed in due course despite a deadly missile attack on a hotel in Kherson city center, local government head Sergey Eliseev confirmed on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian forces shelled a hotel in the center of Kherson with US-supplied HIMARS systems, killing two people.

According to the deputy head of Kherson's regional administration, one of the victims was Oleksiy Zhuravko, a former Ukrainian lawmaker.

"The work on the referendum will be continued and completed within the set timeframe. Everyone will be able to express their civic stance and make the definitive historical choice," Eliseev was quoted as saying by the administration.

The official expressed that the death of every Kherson resident is a sorrow for everyone and an irreplaceable loss for relatives and friends.

"I mourn with you at this difficult time," Eliseev said.

Referenda on joining Russia in the DPR and LPR, as well as in Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, began on Friday and will end on Tuesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin underlined this week that Russia would accept any decision people made during the referendums.

It is noteworthy that NATO countries announced last week their disapproval of the referenda according to a statement revealed. The statement, furthermore, read that NATO allies won't recognize the republics due to what they called the "illegal and illegitimate annexation."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that the next referenda on joining Russia will be viewed as "illegitimate" and the international community should denounce them.

On Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell threatened Russia with new sanctions in the event of referenda.

"Russia, its political leadership, and all those involved in these 'referenda' and other violations of international law in Ukraine will be held accountable, and additional restrictive measures against Russia would be considered," Borrell said.