Iran Press/ Europe: The leaders of the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics said they would hold a four-day referendum to formally join the Russian Federation, starting as soon as Friday.
The announcement of the snap votes was followed by near-identical announcements in the partially Russian-occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine.
"The long-suffering people of the Donbas deserve to be part of a Great Country, that they have always considered their homeland," wrote Denis Pushillin, the separatist leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Should the referendums proceed as planned, they would take place against the backdrop of a fast-moving Ukrainian counteroffensive that has seen Russian forces cede large swaths of territory in the Kharkiv region.
Attending the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Representative to the United Nations, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned the referendum announcement, as did French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. 219
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