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Separatist leaders in four Russian-occupied regions in eastern Ukraine have announced plans to hold referendums on joining Russia later this week.

With Crimea and the territory in the four other regions, Russia would gain an area of around 120,000 square km, about the same size as the US state of Pennsylvania. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg tweeted: "Sham referendums have no legitimacy and do not change the nature of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The international community must condemn this blatant violation of international law and step up support for Ukraine." Ukraine said the threat of referendums was "naive blackmail" and a sign Russia was running scared. Separatist leaders in four Russian-occupied regions in eastern Ukraine have announced plans to hold referendums on joining Russia later this week.

VLADIMIR Putin last night delayed a TV address after world leaders rejected "illegal" his referendum plans in occupied Ukraine territories.The Russian.

"This is a further escalation in Putin’s war. In the last two months, the fleet headquarters and its main naval aviation airfield have been attacked. After the referendums - no,” Liga.net quoted Serhiy Nykyforov as saying. “We saw that he wanted to weaken Nato. [NATO](http://thesun.co.uk/topic/nato) chief Jens Stolenburg denounced the "sham" referendums, as meaningless & vowed to "eliminate" [Putin's threats](https://www.thesun.ie/news/9088389/russia-photo-satan-2-nuclear-missile-warning/), - while formerly impartial Turkish President Erdogan urged Russia to hand back occupied [land to Ukraine](http://thesun.co.uk/topic/ukraine-war) in an interview with PBS. I was a partisan here for six months. Nothing to lie on. And in this instance, it’s strategic failure. A few torn tyres, nothing else.” “He wanted to take control of the capital; we saw that was defeated earlier on. Sir Tony told the BBC: “At the very outset, we said that this was a strategic error by President Putin, and strategic errors lead to strategic consequences. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said that the Russian military does not have the resources or the man power to defeat Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin has been humiliated as Ukrainian forces liberated key towns and areas past Kharkiv in the east of the country, some of which came at great cost ...

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: "The Russians can do whatever they want. President Zelenskyy said: "I thank all the friends and partners of Ukraine for their massive and firm condemnation of Russia's intentions to organise yet more pseudo-referendums." Dmitry Medvedev, who served as Russian president and is now known for his extreme declarations as deputy chairman of the security council, said: "Encroachment onto Russian territory is a crime which allows you to use all the forces of self–defence." Any annexation would raise concerns over whether Russia would unilaterally consider the territory it has taken by force as part of Russia itself and raise the prospect of the use of nuclear weapons. Vladimir Putin has been humiliated as Ukrainian forces liberated key towns and areas past Kharkiv in the east of the country, some of which came at great cost to the invaders in the earlier part of the war. Russia appears set to try and annex huge chunks of Ukraine that it occupies in a serious escalation of the war.

Russia-Ukraine WarKremlin Pushes for Staging Annexation Votes; U.S. Calls Them a 'Sham'. Sept. 20, 2022Updated 8:16 p.m. ET.

“The people are dying, and nobody will be winning at the end of the day.” He declined to comment on who had an advantage at this stage of the conflict, but said that Turkey could be a primary mediator between Russia and Ukraine for any peace talks. “We think the war will never have a triumph, and a fair peace process will not have a loser,” he said in his address. “That is why I engage in a dialogue with Russia and have done so since the start of the war and over these past months,” Mr. To the east, the cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk fell to the Russians in June and July. “On the 24th of February this year, Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, through an act of aggression and invasion and annexation, broke our collective security,” Mr. 24 is a return to the age of imperialism and colonies,” Mr. “The Russians are performing so poorly that the news from Kharkiv Province has inspired many Russian volunteers to refuse combat,” said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the status of Russia’s war in Ukraine. 8, for instance, Ukrainian resistance fighters in the occupied city of Melitopol blew up the headquarters of the “We Are Together With Russia” movement, destroying ballots and other material related to a referendum. Russian proxy officials in four regions — Donetsk and Luhansk in the east, and Kherson and Zaporizka in the south — announced plans to hold referendums over four days beginning on Friday. “The current situation confirms that they want to be the masters of their future,” Mr. On Monday, Russia’s propaganda apparatus launched what appeared to be a scripted display meant to show that the upcoming referendums stemmed from a grass-roots desire by the residents of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine to join Russia. President Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, on Tuesday referred to the “sham” votes as a possible precursor to the Kremlin’s trying to mobilize more of the Russian public for the war.