‘Sham’: New Zealand Refuses to Recognise Russian Referendums in Ukraine Regions

Workers fix a banner reading "Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson—Russia!" on top of a construction installed in front of the State Historical Museum outside Red Square in central Moscow on Sept. 29, 2022. Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images

New Zealand has joined its Western allies in denouncing the “sham” referenda held in four Ukrainian regions to join the Russian Federation.

“These so-called referenda were not free or fair, and they very clearly were not held in accordance with democratic principles,” Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said.