PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd September, 2022) Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra called on Wednesday for increased weapons supplies to Ukraine amid partial mobilization declared in Russia and the plans of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics to hold referenda on joining Russia.
"The Netherlands strongly condemns the fake referenda in eastern Ukraine and the partial military mobilisation in Russia. It is crucial to continue and up our support for Ukraine: more sanctions, more weapons, more aid. We must do all we can to help Ukraine stop Putin's bloodshed," Hoekstra wrote on Twitter.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the partial mobilization amid the military operation in Ukraine. The president also voiced support for referenda on joining Russian announced on Tuesday in the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as well as in the Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine.
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 accession to Russia from September 23-27.
The DPR and LPR proclaimed their independence from Ukraine in 2014 after holding self-determination referenda. 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.
