Russia Prepares to Annex Elements of Ukraine as Staged Votes Finish

Residents within the occupied areas stated Russian troopers compelled them to vote, weapons drawn, in a choreographed present of help for Moscow’s plan to make their areas a part of Russia. They stated some Russian sympathizers have been introduced in from different areas to forged their votes at polling locations to create the impression that it was a daily vote.

“This referendum, they’re doing it of their Russian type, only for photos,” stated Serhiy Ivaschenko, the pinnacle of a district in town of Kherson, the one regional capital Moscow has seized for the reason that full-scale invasion started this yr. He has been going forwards and backwards between Kherson and Ukrainian territory, leaving town simply earlier than the staged voting started, however stays in contact with many people who find themselves nonetheless there. He estimated that round 30% of Kherson’s prewar inhabitants stays within the metropolis.

“The Russians knock on doorways,” Mr. Ivaschenko stated. “It’s normally two girls with a poll field. And naturally two troopers with weapons. However they don’t have the assets to knock on all of the doorways.”

Voting in Russian-controlled elements of 4 areas—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia—started on Sept. 23 and ended Tuesday afternoon, native time. As was extensively anticipated, the official outcomes claimed to indicate overwhelming help within the occupied territories for becoming a member of Russia, opening the way in which for Russian President

Vladimir Putin

to announce their annexation on Friday, when he’s scheduled to deal with Russia’s parliament, the U.Ok.’s Ministry of Protection stated.

In accordance with official outcomes, 93% of voters in Russian-controlled elements of the Zaporizhzhia area checked the field in favor of becoming a member of Russia; in Luhansk, it was 91% in favor; in Kherson, it was 87% in favor. A comparable determine was anticipated in Donetsk.

In an analogous train, held in Crimea after Moscow seized the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, 97% voted in favor of becoming a member of Russia, in line with official outcomes.

The higher home of Russia’s parliament will think about formally annexing the provinces subsequent Tuesday, in line with Russian state media.

U.S. Secretary of State

Antony Blinken

stated the U.S. would by no means acknowledge the annexation of Ukrainian territory by Moscow and that Washington would impose “extra extreme and swift prices on Russia,” including that Kyiv “has absolutely the proper to defend itself all through its territory, together with to take again the territory that has been illegally seized a technique or one other by Russia.”

“As a result of there isn’t any change in any respect within the territory that’s being annexed by the Russians—as a matter for us, or for the Ukrainians—the Ukrainians will proceed to do what they should do to get again the land that has been taken from them,” Mr. Blinken instructed reporters in Washington on Tuesday. “We are going to proceed to help them in that.”

The British Protection Ministry stated, “Russia’s leaders nearly definitely hope that any accession announcement will likely be seen as a vindication of the ‘particular army operation’ and can consolidate patriotic help for the battle.”

In Beryslav, a village within the southern Kherson area, one resident stated troopers had been going door to door with weapons, forcing individuals to vote—in some instances in favor of becoming a member of Russia.

“I personally noticed a person voting on the gate as two males in civilian garments stood over him.”

Most individuals don’t reply when the Russian officers knock on their doorways, she stated. “They got here to us and knocked on the gate. We didn’t come out, although we might see via the home windows.”

One resident of Kherson metropolis, whose husband works at a hospital, stated Russians got here to the hospital on Monday in an effort to prepare medical doctors to vote. The hospital director refused, and instructed the Russians that it might immediate the medical doctors who remained on the hospital to depart, she stated; in response, the Russians took the director away. One older lady and two troopers additionally pressured sufferers on the hospital to vote, she stated.

Preparations have been additionally made for a few of the estimated 2.6 million Ukrainians who’ve fled to Russia for the reason that begin of the battle to vote. Some are Russian sympathizers, whereas for others leaving Ukraine was the one technique to escape the combating.

Russian state tv has portrayed the vote as a hit, exhibiting interviews with residents of the occupied areas saying how relieved they’re that they’ll quickly be a part of Russia.

Kremlin spokesman

Dmitry Peskov

stated, “The Russian authorized system and the manager department are prepared for the potential admission of recent constituent entities to Russia following the referenda within the respective territories.”

By annexing the areas—and thereby calling them a part of Russia—Mr. Putin hopes to discourage Western international locations from sending extra army help to Kyiv at a time when Russia has been dealt a few of its heaviest setbacks of the battle. Ukraine has reclaimed round 3,500 sq. miles of territory this month after a flash offensive that uncovered a few of the frailties of the Russian military.

Lengthy-range rocket programs equipped by the U.S. have performed a key function in turning the momentum within the battle in Ukraine’s favor.

Now residents of Kherson say they worry that when the voting is over, males will start to get referred to as as much as the Russian military following Mr. Putin’s mobilization order to lift extra troops final week.

Mr. Ivaschenko stated it was changing into tougher to depart.

“I’ve acquired many extra requests from individuals asking, ‘How can we go away town?’” he stated. “Even individuals who needed to remain up till now need to go away.”

—Nikita Nikolaienko, Illia Oliinyk, Ann M. Simmons and William Mauldin contributed to this text.

Write to Ian Lovett at ian.lovett@wsj.com and Isabel Coles at isabel.coles@wsj.com