MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2022) The United Kingdom will not acknowledge the results of the referendums on accession to Russia that are set to take place in eastern Ukraine, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DPR, LPR) as well as the Russian-controlled parts of the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson said that they would hold referendums on joining Russia from September 23-27.
"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin's referendum playbook is a blatant sham designed to seize Ukraine's land. Any votes held at the barrel of a gun cannot be free or fair. We will never recognise the results of any sham referendums or attempts to annex Ukraine's sovereign territory," Cleverly tweeted.
The DPR and LPR proclaimed their independence from Ukraine in 2014 after holding referendums on self-determination. In February 2022, Russia recognized the DPR and LPR and launched a military operation in Ukraine in response to calls for help from the two breakaway republics.
