04:10Note: Music at source may be subject to copyright restrictions
The heads of the Central Electoral Commissions (CEC) in Donetsk, Lugansk and Melitopol announced on Friday the preliminary results of the first day of voting in the referendum on becoming part of Russia.
According to Elena Kravchenko, head of the LPR CEC, by the evening of 23 September, the turnout was 21.97 per cent and the number of voters was 298,900.
Zaporozhye regional CEC representative in Melitopol, Galina Katyushchenko, stressed that with the overseas voting taken into account, the turnout was reportedly 20.52 per cent.
There were also international observers from Venezuela and Uruguay in Melitopol, who shared their views on the referendum.
"I [came here] on behalf of 67 party organisations that belong to 30 different Latin American countries. They want to know that the situation here is calm, that people vote of their own free will. The people here are free and they choose their future," claimed Uruguayan observer Sebastian Agobian Lopez during a press conference.
Another observer, John Keiller Jimenez, noted that the chairman of the commission shared with representatives of the foreign delegation the details and conditions of voting.
"People vote in the entrances of apartment houses, but also come to the polling stations. All this will take place till September 27. She said we will all be able to see in detail how the referendum goes. She also noted that people are voting with great emotion, maybe there will even be more [people] voting than expected," the Venezuelan observer noted.
In Donetsk, the chairman of the DPR Central Electoral Commission, Vladimir Vysotsky, also shared statistics in the republic, where voter turnout was 23.64 per cent.
The local governments of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as those established in Kherson and Zaporozhye after the regions came under Russian control, announced earlier this week that the voting would take place from September 23-27.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he was ready to support the decisions taken, with his country prepared 'to provide the safe environment' and let the people 'express their will'.
However, on Friday, Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, described the exercise as a 'propaganda show'. President Volodymyr Zelensky himself condemned the 'pseudo-referendum,' while his press secretary Sergei Nikiforov claimed that the action meant there would be no chance of a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan described the votes as 'sham referenda', while President Joe Biden said 'Russia has violated the basic principles of the UN Charter' and had also made 'open nuclear threats against Europe.'
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said their countries would not recognise the results, while EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell claimed those involved in organising them 'will be held accountable.'
Moscow launched the military offensive in Ukraine earlier this year, after recognising the independence of the DPR and LPR.
DPR/LPR/Ukraine: Preliminary results of first day of referendum announced in Donetsk, Lugansk and Melitopol
The heads of the Central Electoral Commissions (CEC) in Donetsk, Lugansk and Melitopol announced on Friday the preliminary results of the first day of voting in the referendum on becoming part of Russia.
According to Elena Kravchenko, head of the LPR CEC, by the evening of 23 September, the turnout was 21.97 per cent and the number of voters was 298,900.
Zaporozhye regional CEC representative in Melitopol, Galina Katyushchenko, stressed that with the overseas voting taken into account, the turnout was reportedly 20.52 per cent.
There were also international observers from Venezuela and Uruguay in Melitopol, who shared their views on the referendum.
"I [came here] on behalf of 67 party organisations that belong to 30 different Latin American countries. They want to know that the situation here is calm, that people vote of their own free will. The people here are free and they choose their future," claimed Uruguayan observer Sebastian Agobian Lopez during a press conference.
Another observer, John Keiller Jimenez, noted that the chairman of the commission shared with representatives of the foreign delegation the details and conditions of voting.
"People vote in the entrances of apartment houses, but also come to the polling stations. All this will take place till September 27. She said we will all be able to see in detail how the referendum goes. She also noted that people are voting with great emotion, maybe there will even be more [people] voting than expected," the Venezuelan observer noted.
In Donetsk, the chairman of the DPR Central Electoral Commission, Vladimir Vysotsky, also shared statistics in the republic, where voter turnout was 23.64 per cent.
The local governments of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as those established in Kherson and Zaporozhye after the regions came under Russian control, announced earlier this week that the voting would take place from September 23-27.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he was ready to support the decisions taken, with his country prepared 'to provide the safe environment' and let the people 'express their will'.
However, on Friday, Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, described the exercise as a 'propaganda show'. President Volodymyr Zelensky himself condemned the 'pseudo-referendum,' while his press secretary Sergei Nikiforov claimed that the action meant there would be no chance of a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan described the votes as 'sham referenda', while President Joe Biden said 'Russia has violated the basic principles of the UN Charter' and had also made 'open nuclear threats against Europe.'
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said their countries would not recognise the results, while EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell claimed those involved in organising them 'will be held accountable.'
Moscow launched the military offensive in Ukraine earlier this year, after recognising the independence of the DPR and LPR.
Note: Music at source may be subject to copyright restrictions
The heads of the Central Electoral Commissions (CEC) in Donetsk, Lugansk and Melitopol announced on Friday the preliminary results of the first day of voting in the referendum on becoming part of Russia.
According to Elena Kravchenko, head of the LPR CEC, by the evening of 23 September, the turnout was 21.97 per cent and the number of voters was 298,900.
Zaporozhye regional CEC representative in Melitopol, Galina Katyushchenko, stressed that with the overseas voting taken into account, the turnout was reportedly 20.52 per cent.
There were also international observers from Venezuela and Uruguay in Melitopol, who shared their views on the referendum.
"I [came here] on behalf of 67 party organisations that belong to 30 different Latin American countries. They want to know that the situation here is calm, that people vote of their own free will. The people here are free and they choose their future," claimed Uruguayan observer Sebastian Agobian Lopez during a press conference.
Another observer, John Keiller Jimenez, noted that the chairman of the commission shared with representatives of the foreign delegation the details and conditions of voting.
"People vote in the entrances of apartment houses, but also come to the polling stations. All this will take place till September 27. She said we will all be able to see in detail how the referendum goes. She also noted that people are voting with great emotion, maybe there will even be more [people] voting than expected," the Venezuelan observer noted.
In Donetsk, the chairman of the DPR Central Electoral Commission, Vladimir Vysotsky, also shared statistics in the republic, where voter turnout was 23.64 per cent.
The local governments of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as those established in Kherson and Zaporozhye after the regions came under Russian control, announced earlier this week that the voting would take place from September 23-27.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he was ready to support the decisions taken, with his country prepared 'to provide the safe environment' and let the people 'express their will'.
However, on Friday, Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, described the exercise as a 'propaganda show'. President Volodymyr Zelensky himself condemned the 'pseudo-referendum,' while his press secretary Sergei Nikiforov claimed that the action meant there would be no chance of a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan described the votes as 'sham referenda', while President Joe Biden said 'Russia has violated the basic principles of the UN Charter' and had also made 'open nuclear threats against Europe.'
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said their countries would not recognise the results, while EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell claimed those involved in organising them 'will be held accountable.'
Moscow launched the military offensive in Ukraine earlier this year, after recognising the independence of the DPR and LPR.