Governor: Armed Russian proxies knock on doors, demand locals to 'vote' on joining Russia

by The Kyiv Independent news desk September 23, 2022 3:15 PM 1 min read

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Russia's proxies in occupied Luhansk Oblast come to locals' houses accompanied by armed men and force them to take part in the pseudo-referendum on joining Russia, Serhii Haidai, the oblast governor, said on Sept. 23.

"If a person doesn't open the door, (Russian forces) threaten to break in. When a person ticks 'no' in the 'ballot,' they make notes," Haidai said.

The governor added that the second purpose of this "door-to-door search" is to find fighting-age men to mobilize them later against Ukraine.

Russia's proxies in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts announced the start of pseudo-referendums on joining Russia on Sept. 23. For four days, "voting" will be held at people's homes "for security reasons," Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti wrote.

Kyiv warned that the illegal annexation votes would not change Ukraine's counteroffensive plans and there would be no peace talks in case these "referendums" take place.

Kuleba: 'Sham referendums won't change anything'

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