Voting begins in four sham referendums in Ukraine

referendums began in four mostly or partially occupied provinces of eastern and southern Ukraine—Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson—on the morning of September 23rd. Many of the Kremlin’s favourite tricks were deployed. In the city of Kherson the authorities delivered an unmarked ballot box to a central square, accompanied by two riflemen urging citizens to vote. Elsewhere in town, election officials went door-to-door with riot police. “Voting” has been recorded on park benches, in shops and even in makeshift booths in police stations better known locally as torture chambers. In Melitopol there have been reports of doors being broken down to facilitate the voting process. Locals describe empty streets and minimal enthusiasm. The result is not in doubt. The “vote count” will “reveal” that residents would love to be ruled by the invading power, Russia.The Russian-backed administrations of the four provinces announced plans for the five-day plebiscites earlier this week, following months of rumour and counter-rumour. The haste with which they are being held makes it unlikely that the spectacle will convince even Russians of their legitimacy. But Ukrainian forces have made such startling advances on the battlefield in recent weeks that the Kremlin appears to have concluded that it had to act quickly. When it announces that the provinces have agreed to be annexed by Russia, it will be able to claim that Ukrainian attempts to recover Ukrainian land are in fact attacks on Russia itself.