Members of an election commission counted ballots after voting at a polling station in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, Sept 27, 2022. PHOTO AP MOSCOW KYIV - The Kremlin announced on Tuesday the results of the referendums held in four regions to determine whether they want to become part of Russia.
According to preliminary results on Tuesday evening, 93.11 percent of voters backed joining Russia, according to Zaporizhzhia.
There were more than 87.05 percent of voters who supported the move after all the ballots were counted.
Local authorities said more than 98.42 percent of the population voted for the incorporation in the eastern Lugansk region. The Donetsk region's officials claimed victory, with the local poll body saying 99.23 percent of the vote was for incorporation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier in the day that the people in the territories where the referendum is taking place are the focus of the attention of the whole country and society.
Putin is expected to speak to the parliament about the referendums on Friday, and Valentina Matviyenko, who chairs the body's upper house, said lawmakers could consider legislation of incorporation on October 4.
The Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the votes would have radical legal implications and that the referendums will have consequences for security. The referendums in the Lugansk and Kherson regions and parts of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia began on Friday.
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The ballot asked residents if they wanted the areas to be incorporated into Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out any talks with Moscow as long as Putin remains president, despite Russia's just-concluded referendums.
He also called for Russia's complete isolation and tough new global sanctions.
Zelensky spoke to the UN Security CouncilUN Security Council after he was videoed over Russian objections, urging additional military and financial support to defend Ukraine so the aggressor would lose and legally binding guarantees of collective security for his country.
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