Biden says Russia 'manufactured' results of referendums in occupied regions of Ukraine

In response to Russia's plan to annex four regions of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden has said that Washington will "never" recognise Moscow's claims on Ukraine's territory. He described the referendums held in occupied parts of Ukraine as an "absolute sham" and stressed that their outcomes were "manufactured in Moscow." His remarks come ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement of formally adding more regions of Ukraine to Russia on Friday, September 30. 

"I want to be very clear about this: The United States will never, never, never recognize Russia’s claims on Ukraine sovereign territory. This so-called referenda was a sham — an absolute sham and the results were manufactured in Moscow."

In his address at the US-Pacific Island Country Summit, Biden said that Russia's offensive in Ukraine "in pursuit of Putin's imperial ambition" is a "flagrant" violation of the UN Charter and basic principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Lauding the resistance of Ukrainians, Biden said that the "true will" of the people of Ukraine is "evident" as they continue to sacrifice their lives to protect the independence of their nation. Echoing similar remarks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced the results of the referendum conducted in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine labelling it as a "sham." He described the move as a "violation of international law" and stated that the US rejects the "fabricated and illegitimate outcomes." 

Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, also reiterated her country’s opposition to Russia’s planned annexations. She tweeted:

US presents UNSC resolution to condemn referendum

Earlier, the US also presented a resolution to the United Nations Security Council calling for condemning the referendum conducted in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. Linda Thomas-Greenfield in a tweet said that the US has put forward a resolution to condemn Russia's referendum and described it as a "sham". Linda Thomas-Greenfield tweeted, “We are putting forward a Security Council resolution to condemn Russia's sham referenda, call on the Member States not to recognise any altered status of Ukraine and obligate Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.” This development comes after Russian-occupied regions - Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk conducted referendums to join Russia. 

Putin recognises independence of Zaporizhzhia & Kherson

On 30 September, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to recognise the independence of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine, TASS reported. As per the documents, Putin's decision is based on universal principles and norms of international law and with respect people's will in the referendum. Earlier, Kremlin announced that Moscow-occupied regions will become part of Russia on Friday, 30 September. As per the news report, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Thursday said that Putin will hold a signing ceremony to add four regions of Ukraine to Russia. He further stated that the ceremony is due to take place in Grand Kremlin Palace at 3 pm Moscow Time (5:30 pm IST). Following the signing ceremony, Putin will make a speech. 

Image: AP