US Politics | Ukraine news latest: Vladimir Putin’s puppet leaders demand areas ANNEXED as ‘99% vote yes’ in illegal referendums

PUTIN's separatist leaders demand that four Russian-held regions of Ukraine are annexed after gaining ...99%... of the votes in ...SHAM... referendums. Moscow-installed officials in the regions are now claiming almost total support among those who took part after Russian sources earlier reported that 99% of voters want to join Putin's regime. The ballots closed yesterday in Donetsk and Lugansk in the east and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south, as Putin desperately attempts to consolidate his gains in Ukraine. President Zelensky has today slammed the results of these so-called referendums, stating: "This farce in the occupied territory cannot even be called an imitation of referendums." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the EU to impose ...extremely serious... sanctions on Russia. Read our Ukraine-Russia live blog below for the latest updates...