“A bit fat yes.” Those were the words spoken by the first man to vote in this morning’s referendum election in the Donbass region of Ukraine.
This referendum will decide if that region becomes Russia. The voting will last through September 27 and results are expected on Wednesday, September 28.
The Western world is calling this vote a sham but maybe they don’t read history. Since 2014, these four regions have been fighting against joining the reformed Ukrainian government. They have been tormented by Ukrainian forces ever since and many of them absolutely want to join Russia. So why is the West telling them that they don’t get a say, much less a vote?
Now Ukraine is threatening anyone who participates in this vote with prison time of between five and ten years. They have already been issuing punishments to those who have accepted Russian passports in those regions. The Ukrainian parliament is also trying to pass legislation that would allow the government to seize assets and bar employment for anyone caught voting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Russia will work to secure these elections as Ukraine has threatened to step up attacks in that region. It’s going to be a long and dangerous weekend in that part of the world.
