Paris, September 20
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that referendums planned in Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions on joining Russia will not be recognised by the international community.
Speaking in New York, he said the referendum proposals for eastern Ukraine were an additional provocation following Russia’s invasion of its neighbour. “If the Donbas referendum idea wasn’t so tragic it would be funny,” he told reporters.
Russian-installed leaders in occupied areas of four Ukrainian regions set out plans for referendums on joining Russia, a move Kyiv dismissed as a stunt by Moscow to try to reclaim the initiative after resounding losses on the battlefield. Reuters
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