War in Ukraine: referendums continue in occupied territories, Biden promises swift and severe sanctions for annexations
Eva Deschamps / September 24, 2022
Russia began Friday to vote in its "referendums" annexing Ukrainian regions that it controls in whole or in part, polls immediately condemned in Kiev and Washington, which promised a "rapid and severe" response.
On Friday evening, in his daily address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the rest of the world to condemn what he called "pseudo-referenda".
"The world will react with the utmost fairness to the pseudo-referendums" and they "will be unequivocally condemned", he assured.
Echoing him, President Joe Biden warned Russia that the United States would "work with (its) allies and partners to inflict swift and severe additional economic measures on Russia" if it annexes territory in Ukraine.