Over 80 Organisers of Fake 2014 Donbas ‘Referendum’ Convicted in Ukraine Last Year

Over the past year, more than 100 organisers of the pseudo-referendum held in Donbas in 2014 were declared suspects in Ukraine, and more than 80 of them were convicted, according to the press service of the Main Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

“The court convicted more than 80 organisers of the fake 2014 “referendum” in eastern Ukraine … Among them were members of village councils, the so-called “heads of polling stations” and “hostile agitators,” the report reads.

In addition, in 2022, five residents of the region were convicted for organising and conducting the pseudo-referendum. According to the investigation, they were members of the so-called “precinct election commissions” and collected signatures for the “legitimisation” of illegal armed groups in the occupied territories.

According to the SBU, the court found them guilty of encroaching on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the OSCE continues to record ceasefire violations on the line of contact in Donbas. Thus, according to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) daily report, 154 ceasefire violations were recorded on Friday, 14 January.

In addition, on 15 January, the Mission spotted weapons and military equipment, including howitzers, dozens of tanks, anti-aircraft missile systems, and self-propelled artillery, which were located in violation of withdrawal lines and outside designated storage sites in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Also, an SMM UAV was assessed as targeted by small-arms fire while flying over areas in Vasylivka (non-government-controlled, 20km north of Donetsk). The Mission landed the UAV and left the area.

Bohdan Marusyak