Russia has announced it will formally annex four areas of occupied Ukraine on Friday, after organizing referendums in the regions widely denounced by Ukraine and its allies as a sham. We speak with Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk, who explains how armed Russian soldiers went to the houses of Ukrainians in the occupied territories, forcing them to vote. She also describes widespread abuses committed by Russian forces, including mass graves and suspected torture chambers. Meanwhile, more than 200,000 Russians have fled the country over the past week following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a partial military mobilization to draft at least 300,000 people. Gumenyuk says she hopes the draft will “create some disturbance within Russia” now that the war is impacting middle-class Russians.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.