Donbass, Zaporozhye, Kherson regions to vote on accession to Russia

Residents of the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR), as well as the liberated territories of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, will cast their ballots in referendums on accession to Russia between September 23 and 27, Qazet.az reports.

The issue of holding the referendums immediately was raised earlier this week by the public chambers of the DPR and LPR. On Monday, they filed formal requests to heads of their republics. Dates of the referendums were set on Tuesday, and local legislatures unanimously passed referendum laws, while elections authorities approved the procedure.

On Tuesday, residents of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions joined the initiative as local public organizations filed similar requests to their authorities. The decree of Yegeny Balitsky, head of the military-civilian administration of Zaporozhye region, was posted on his Telegram channel. The decree of the head of the Kherson regional military-civilian administration Vladimir Saldo also took effect, the regional administration told TASS.

In a video address on Wednesday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would back the decision made during the referendums.