This Friday morning, the polling stations in the popular republics of Donetsk and Lugansk and in the Ukrainian provinces of Kherson and Zaporizhia opened their doors for the inhabitants to decide on their accession to Russia.
The consultation will be held from 23 to 27 September.
Both Donetsk and Lungansk have repeatedly declared their readiness to join Russia. In 2022, authorities in the Liberated Parts of Kherson and Zaporizhia regions made similar statements.
Referendum in Donetsk and Lungansk
«At 8:00 Moscow time [GMT+3] the referendum on the incorporation of the Russian Federation began a Russia, "as a federal entity of the Donetsk People's Republic," he told Sputnik the president of the Central Electoral Commission of the republic, Vladimir Visotsky.
Residents of the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donbass must answer the question whether they support "the incorporation of the republic into the Russian Federation as a constituent entity."
The voting process in Donetsk and Lungansk can be followed through the Telegram channels created by the regional Electoral Commissions on the eve of the referendum, says a dispatch from Prensa Latina.
Due to security issues, the vote will be held in the access areas to residential buildings and through door-to-door surveys of residents, the Russian agency said on Friday. TASS.
According to what the agency reports, 450 polling stations and more than 200 polling places will be opened in Donetsk for those evacuated to Russia. More than 1,5 million ballots have been printed, corresponding to the number of eligible voters. The ballots were printed only in as it is the official language.
Meanwhile in Lungansk, where the ballots are also in Russian because it is the official language, residents will be able to vote in 461 polling stations, as well as in practically all russian regions where 201 voting places have been set up.
Consultation in Zaporizhia and Kherson
Meanwhile, in the regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson, occupied by Russian troops since the very beginning of the special military operation, the ballot presents the question: "Are you in favor of the region separating from Ukraine, creating an independent state and join the Russian Federation?
In Donbass, where since 2020 only Russian has the status of a state language, ballots are printed in Russian, while in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions the question is in Ukrainian and Russian.
The authorities of the Ukrainian province of Kherson announced that they expect the participation of some 750 voters, while in the Zaporozhye region there are 500 people on the voter lists.
