> The fact is that the Eastern region of Ukraine historically voted for pro Russian candidates. And after being annexed, again voted to be part of Russia. Pres

> The fact is that the Eastern region of Ukraine historically voted for pro Russian candidates. And after being annexed, again voted to be part of Russia. Presumably the people that live there, hedged their bets on who would treat them best going forward, and came up with Russia multiple times. That's simply not true. Pre-war surveys showed 1% support for joining Russian Federation in Kherson and up to 13% in areas with the largest number of Russians. So it was a fringe idea even among ethnic Russians. Leaked surveys conducted by Russian military admin after the invasion showed similar low levels. They got 99% support in their fake referendums only through extreme intimidation: Moscow-backed forces are going door-to-door armed with machine guns forcing Ukrainians to vote in "sham" referendums that will annex newly occupied areas to Russia, sources have told the Telegraph. Voting began on Friday morning and is expected to continue until Tuesday, with polling stations featuring see-through ballot boxes and armed guards set up across Russian-controlled parts of the Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions, as well as Russia itself. Ukrainians living in territory that Moscow has taken since the start of the war have been told their families will be massacred if they refuse to take part, with soldiers sometimes even leaning over their shoulders and watching them as they vote. “We are forced to go under the pretext of being shot. If we didn’t go, they said that they would shoot or massacre the whole family,” said a resident in Severodonetsk, Luhansk Oblast, who wished to remain anonymous due to fears of reprisals. “We're scared. At the referendum, turnout is required or arrest or worse. Many are being forced with a threat to life.” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/09/23/gunmen-going-door-door-forcing-ukrainians-vote-sham-referendums/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/09/23/gunmen-goi... If you care about the free self-determination of local population, then this is the polar opposite - plain coercion by foreign invaders.