Vladimir Putin's ‘sham’ annexation vote is a sign of weakness as Russia still does not fully control the four occupied regions of Ukraine, according to Western Officials.
Russia hopes to annex at least 15% of Ukraine in order to claim its own territory is under attack by President Volodymr Zelensky’s forces.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned: “The Kremlin wants the semblance of a decisive electoral mandate to try and justify the eventual Russian annexation of parts of Ukraine.
“Our information shows Russian officials are setting targets for invented voter turnouts and approval rates for these sham referenda. For example, in some regions, they have reportedly already set the required figures for voter turnout and support for accession into Russia at needing to be over 75%.
“Russia has also agreed in advance what will happen after these referenda.
“Their plan is that the regions will declare independence and express a desire to accede to the Russian Federation.
“Their plan is to then recognise those referenda and the independence of Zaporizhzhya and Kherson, as they did the independence of the LNR and DNR on 21 February 2022 - and by the end of the month, Russia’s intention will be to formalise the annexation of the four regions into the Russian Federation.
"As of next week, Russia will consider these Ukrainian territories as being part of Russia, and they will claim any Ukrainian attempts to retake their own sovereign territory as an 'invasion of Russia’.
He added: “Of course, the UK completely rejects this characterisation of the situation.
"Russia is acting to create a fake pretext for further military intervention.”
The referendums have been taking place in four occupied regions of Ukraine - Luhansk, Dnetsk, Khereson and Zaporizhzhia.
Western officials told the Mirror: “Russia have long intended to conduct sham referenda, they’ve repeatedly been postponed because Russia has not had secure control of the areas where they intend to conduct such oversight.
"That remains the case. They are pushing the next set showing weakness not strength, they still do not have the power to do so.”
The referendums follow Russian President Vladimir Putin ’s order of a partial mobilisation, which could add some 300,000 Russian troops to the fight.
Since, dozens of Russian men of fighting age attempted to flee the country after Putin announced military reservists would be deployed to Ukraine.
The despot leader’s announcement on Wednesday kicked off a wave of protests across Russia, with Russian influencers calling for Putin’s resignation.
Earlier this week, a former Tory defence minister suggested Ukraine and its allies should seek to offer Putin something that will “enable him to save face”.
Andrew Murrison, MP for South West Wilshire, told the Commons: “Unless we’re going to defeat Russia in classical terms – which is unlikely and desirable – there has to be an off-ramp to allow Putin to construct a narrative that will go down well amongst his population and through the media, which he controls.
But Defence Minister James Heappey appeared to reject the idea, saying he would not say the Russian leader “deserves any further opportunities for an off-ramp when he has made his decision on what should come next”.
