NZ rejects ‘sham’ votes in Russian-occupied Ukraine

New Zealand will not recognise the ‘‘sham’’ referendums held in Russian-occupied Ukraine asMoscow plots to claim the territory.

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, in a statement yesterday, said the ‘‘so-called’’ referendums held in regions of eastern Ukraine – much of which Russia has occupied since a February invasion – would not be recognised by New Zealand.

Russia has used the referendums as justification for the annexation of the territory, and President Vladimir Putin was set to declare the territory part of Russia in the coming day, according to multiple reports.

‘‘These so-called referenda were not free or fair, and they very clearly were not held in accordance with democratic principles,’’ Mahuta said.

‘‘Instead, they were hastily organised under the threat of force, and Aotearoa New Zealand does not recognise the results.’’

Mahuta said Russia has ‘‘only one course of action available to it’’.

‘‘Aotearoa New Zealand also stands firmly against the escalation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including mobilisation of Russian citizens. Escalation flies in the face of Russia’s lie that they are there to liberate Ukraine.’’

Ukraine has said the regions occupied by Russia – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson – remain the sovereign territory of Ukraine.

‘‘Ukraine has every right to restore its territorial integrity by military and diplomatic means, and will continue to liberate the temporarily occupied territories,’’ said the Ukrainian foreign ministry in a statement earlier this week.

‘‘Ukraine will never agree to any Russian ultimatums. Moscow’s attempts to create new separation lines or weaken international support for Ukraine are doomed to fail.’’

Ukraine’s military overwhelmed the Russian frontline in the country’s north earlier this month, leading Putin to escalate last week, announcing at least 300,000 reservists would be mobilised and threatening again to use nuclear weapons to protect Russian territory.