On 27 September, the results of sham referendums held in the occupied territories, were announced. In the Donetsk region, 99.23% of those taking part in the referendum were reported to vote in favour of joining Russia; in the Luhansk region - 98.42%, in the Kherson region - 87.05%, and in the Zaporizhzhia region - 93.11%.

On 28 September, the US announced a $1.1 billion aid package for Ukraine.

Ukrainian police recorded at least 582 war crimes committed by the Russians in the occupied territories of the Kharkiv oblast.

On 30 September, Vladimir Putin announced the illegal annexation of four regions of Ukraine (Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts), but did not specify the exact borders of these territories. Meanwhile, Russia as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, vetoed a resolution condemning this annexation as the one that violated international law.

The European Council members firmly rejected and unequivocally condemned the illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts. Their statement read:

“We do not and will never recognise the illegal “referenda” that Russia has engineered as a pretext for this further violation of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, nor their falsified and illegal results. We will never recognise this illegal annexation. These decisions are null and void and cannot produce any legal effect whatsoever. Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk are Ukraine. We call on all States and international organisations to unequivocally reject this illegal annexation.”

“We reiterate that the European Union firmly stands with Ukraine and will continue to provide strong economic, military, social and financial support to Ukraine for as long as it takes.” 

The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, called for Ukraine’s accelerated accession to NATO. 

Photo: Donetsk. By Andrew Butko. CC BY-SA 3.0.