Occupation heads ask Moscow for annexation after staged votes
A look back at 28 September 2022, when Russian-installed officials in occupied Ukraine formally requested annexation while Russia's neighbours dealt with an exodus.
What happened on 28 September 2022, once the results of the staged votes in occupied Ukraine had been announced? Formal requests for annexation began to arrive, and Russia's neighbours were coping with people leaving the country.
On that date, the Russian-installed heads of the occupation administrations in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts, together with Leonid Pasechnik, leader of the breakaway Luhansk People's Republic, officially asked to be annexed to Russia. The requests followed a referendum that was widely seen as fraudulent.
Denis Pushilin, leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, had not yet submitted a request. He had travelled to Moscow with Pasechnik for talks on annexation and was expected to send one shortly.
The results announced a day earlier
On 27 September 2022, Russian occupation authorities released results for the votes. They reported support for annexation of 99.23% in the Donetsk People's Republic, 98.42% in the Luhansk People's Republic, 93.11% in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast and 87.05% in the occupied part of Kherson Oblast. Turnout was reported to exceed 75% in each region and 97% in Donetsk Oblast. The voting was widely dismissed as a sham referendum, and was recognised as such around the world.
Background compiled later describes the votes as staged by Russian-installed officials and denounced by various countries. It says that only North Korea has accepted the validity of the results.
Pressure at Russia's borders
The same period saw people leaving Russia to avoid the draft. On 27 September 2022, Latvia announced a state of emergency over the influx of Russian citizens fleeing mobilisation, with special measures in its border regions and at all ports of entry.
On 28 September 2022, North Ossetia–Alania, which contains the only border crossing between Russia and Georgian-controlled territory, banned all Russian cars without the republic's licence plate. Tourists travelling to the region were exempt. The move came as people fleeing the draft overwhelmed the border.
