Ukrainians in the city of Melitopol in the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region fear Moscow will call them up at gunpoint after a referendum on joining Russia in which some residents were forced to vote at gunpoint, he said on Monday. city ​​Ivan Fedorov, reports Reuters.

A polling station during the referendum on joining Russia in Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, controlled by pro-Russian forcesPhoto: RIA Novosti / Sputnik / Profimedia

Mayor Ivan Fedorov said that the last official route from Melitopol to Ukrainian-controlled territory was closed, and residents’ concerns increased after voting in the referendum began on Friday.

“Our residents are scared, they are panicking, they don’t know what will happen tomorrow and when they will start conscripting (to the Russian army),” he said during a video conference.

Melitopol, in southeastern Ukraine, was one of the first cities to fall after the Russian invasion in February. It was in the Zaporizhzhia region, one of the four regions where referendums were held, which Kyiv calls sham.

People forced to vote at gunpoint, the mayor says in exile

Fedorov said the main reason for holding the referendums was to allow Moscow to recruit Ukrainians after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization last week.

“Voting takes place in front of machines armed with (Russian) people,” Fedorov said.

“People are grabbed (by Russian soldiers) right on the street and forced to vote not only for themselves, but for their entire family. When (soldiers) enter a rented house where a tenant is, they force him to vote for every person registered in that building”.

The only exit from Melitopol is closed

Fedorov said that passage through the Vasylivka checkpoint, the only official route to the controlled territory of Kyiv, was closed to men aged 18 to 35 for four days, and was completely closed on Sunday.

Reuters could not immediately independently verify the status of the transition or the situation in Melitopol.

Referendums on membership in Russia were hastily organized after Ukraine regained large parts of the country’s northeast. The Russian parliament can take steps to formalize the annexations within a few days.

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