“Russia is hastily organizing fake referendums” in Ukraine, the White House national security adviser said on Tuesday, AFP reports. Emmanuel Macron called the statement a “parody” on Tuesday, while NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke of “fake referendums without any legitimacy.”

The reaction of the United States

“The United States will never recognize Russia’s claims regarding the alleged annexation of Ukraine,” Jake Sullivan added at a press briefing.

The authorities installed by Moscow in four regions of Ukraine announced on Tuesday the organization of emergency “referendums” for annexation by Russia from September 23 to 27, in the midst of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Sullivan said the referendums and Moscow’s intention to mobilize more forces in Ukraine reflect military setbacks for Russian forces, which have been forced out of several regions they have occupied since February.

“These are not measures that a self-confident country would take,” he said. “It is not about a demonstration of strength, but the opposite.

In turn, Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder stressed that even if Moscow formally annexes Ukrainian territory based on polls, Washington will continue military support for Ukraine.

“From my point of view, this is just a media operation to divert attention from the difficult situation in which the Russian military is now,” he said.

“We will continue to work with Ukraine and our international partners to provide it with the support it needs to protect its territory,” he concluded.

Macron’s reaction

Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday described as a “parody” the announcement of the organization of referendums in four separatist regions of Ukraine, saying that they “will not have any legal consequences”, according to AFP.

“I consider what Russia announced to be a travesty. The only thing that exists is the war that was decided by Russia, the resistance of Ukraine and the end of the war that we want,” the French president added on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

NATO reaction

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday condemned the “fake referendums” organized by Moscow-appointed authorities in four regions of Ukraine as “a new escalation of Putin’s war.”

“These fake referendums have no legitimacy and do not change the nature of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” he wrote on Twitter.

“The international community should condemn this gross violation of international law and strengthen its support for Ukraine,” he added.