Voting equipment brought to Russia-occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region

The election commission of the occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region has received voting equipment for the referendum on joining Russia, pro-Russian official Vladimir Rogov said on his Telegram channel.

He published a video with a member of the election commission under Russian occupation, Galina Katyushchenko. “These are well-known secret ballot booths with a special table inside that ensures voter privacy. The booths have special curtains and a voting table,” she said.

Rogov added that the election commission has portable ballot boxes for remote voting. “The Zaporizhzhia region has taken another step towards the referendum,” he said.

Pro-Russian “authorities” of the Zaporizhzhia region announced their plans to become part of Russia back in May. A bi-currency zone was introduced in the occupied part of the region. The same measures were introduced in the Kherson region.

Russian outlet RBC previously wrote that Kremlin officials were discussing the idea of holding simultaneous referendums on joining Russia in both the “LPR” and the “DPR”. According to RBC’s sources, the fact that residents of the “LPR” and the “DPR” will vote in favour of such a step is beyond doubt, however, the situation seems to be more ambiguous in the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv regions.

Furthermore, sources of the Russian newspaper Kommersant previously reported that there was a directive in place for Kremlin officials to be ready to hold such referendums by the beginning of August.