Russia claims victory in referendum; US announces new arms package

A day after the referendum on the four regions of southern and eastern Ukraine ended, Moscow announced that an unprecedented majority of residents in the occupied regions have agreed to join Russia.

The Kremlin-installed governments in these regions on Tuesday evening declared victories in the referendums held in the southern Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, and eastern Donetsk and Luhansk.

They added that the vote tallies in the four provinces ranged from 87% to 99.2% in favour of joining Russia.

However, the west has tagged the referendums a 'sham' and the U.S. said it was preparing a new round of sanctions against Russia, should it annex Ukrainian territory. Washington will also announce a $1.1 billion arms package for Ukraine soon, reported Reuters.

Meanwhile, the results were welcomed in Russia as the head of the upper house of the Russian parliament said the chamber might consider annexation on October 4.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has blasted the referendums, stating that Russian occupiers falsified the results of the sham referendums in the occupied territories of Ukraine as early as the beginning of September.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address late on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield introduced a resolution condemning Russia over the so-called referendums, calling on member states not to recognize any change in Ukraine and obligating Russia to withdraw its troop.

However, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, claimed that the referendums were conducted transparently and in line with electoral norms.

Meanwhile, the new U.S. arms package to Ukraine will include HIMARS launcher systems, accompanying munitions, various types of counter-drone systems and radar systems, along with spares, training and technical support, Reuters quoted a source.