DONETSK, September 28. /TASS/. The leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, described as a national victory the results of the referendum in his republic on joining Russia.

"We have been fighting for the right to join Russia, to come back home, to be with our real Motherland for more than 3,000 days. This is our national victory," Pushilin said in a video address on his Telegram channel.

"It has been a long and hard way home, but this makes the joy at this reunification all the more stronger. The result of the referendum was not a surprise to us, as all we have been seeking for the past eight and a half years is to restore historical justice," he emphasized.

On September 23-27, the DPR and the Lugansk People’s Republic as well as the Kherson Region and the liberated territories in the Zaporozhye Region held referendums on the accession to Russia as separate constituent members. The overwhelming majority of voters in the four regions opted for joining Russia.