NOVAYA KAKHOVKA /Kherson Region/, September 24. /TASS/. Despite shelling Novaya Kakhovka in the Kherson Region, Ukraine’s armed forces have been unable to derail the referendum on the region’s joining Russia, voting is ongoing, Vladimir Leontyev, head of the Kakhovka district’s civil-military administration, told reporters on Saturday.
"They have already failed," he said when asked by TASS if Ukraine had succeeded in disrupting the referendum with attacks. He added that shelling takes place almost every day.
Leontyev pointed out that "the second day is in full swing, and we can state that the referendum did happen. It’s a fact."
"It can be seen in the number of ballots that will be counted in the final days. We have four days ahead, which is a significant number. Field teams are working, going door-to-door. People, who live in their dachas (small summer houses - TASS) for security reasons, are asking for election commissions to visit them so that they can cast their vote," Leontyev added.
The referendums on joining Russia kicked off in the Donetsk and the Lugansk People’s Republics and in the liberated territories of the Kherson and the Zaporozhye Regions at 08:00 a.m. Moscow Time on September 23. Voting will last until September 27. For security reasons, voters will cast their ballots next to their homes and in door-to-door voting during the first four days of the referendum in the regions.