Following a run of humiliating military defeats, Russian authorities declared victory in a series of stage-managed, UN-condemned “referendums” as the Kremlin proceeded to seize a sizable portion of occupied Ukrainian territory.

The Russian Security Council’s deputy head, Dmitry Medvedev, announced the results of the referendums in the wee hours of Wednesday (28/09/2022) on his official Telegram channel. He continued, “Results are obvious. Russia says, “Welcome home.”

Denis Pushilin, the leader of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, announced on Telegram that all votes had been tabulated in his area and that 99.23% of those surveyed had chosen to join the Russian Federation. The Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk areas also had landslides, according to the state-run Ria Novosti news agency.

The declaration from Moscow signals a new phase in the struggle between Russia and the US and its allies. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced the votes as a “violation of the UN Charter and international law.”

Fighting is happening in all four of the regions where the votes were cast, and Russian troops do not completely control the land of any of them.

After suffering their biggest losses against the Ukrainian military since the weeks before Russia’s invasion in February, the Kremlin ordered the ballots. This week, Putin also demanded a “partial mobilisation” to call up 300,000 reserve soldiers.