<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Western nations have condemned Moscow's plans to hold urgent so-called referendums in parts of Ukraine that are currently under Russian control.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The votes have been called by Russian-backed officials in four Ukrainian regions to ask whether they should become part of Russia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The US, Germany and France have said they would never recognise the results of such "sham" ballots.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Nato military alliance said the plans spelt an escalation in the war.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Plans to run polls for five days, starting on Friday, have been announced in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk - as well as Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The quartet represent around 15% of Ukrainian territory - or an area the size of Hungary, according to Reuters news agency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The suggestion that legitimate and fair polls could be run in the middle of a war were immediately scorned by the West.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">German Chancellor Olaf Scholz blasted the Russian plans for "sham" votes, while French President Emmanuel Macron labelled them a "parody" of democracy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"If the Donbas referendum idea wasn't so tragic it would be funny," Mr Macron told reporters in New York, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He pleaded with neutral countries to change their stance to the war, saying silence or complicity was an "historic error".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US would never recognise the votes, calling them "an affront to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Any referendum planned by invading forces contravenes international law and will have no legal force, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in a statement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked his partners for their support in the face of Russia's "noisy news".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Zelensky is expected to address the UN General Assembly by video-link later on Wednesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There were reports that Russia's President Vladimir Putin would give his own, rare address on Tuesday evening - potentially discussing the planned votes, or a wider troop mobilisation in Ukraine. But no speech came, and speculation shifted to Wednesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The plans to hold votes within a matter of days is widely seen as a push by Mr Putin to accelerate Russia's annexation of Ukraine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It comes after a sweeping Ukrainian counter-offensive, in which Kyiv claims to have retaken 8,000 sq km (3,088 sq miles) this month, putting Russia on the back foot.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cementing its control over Ukrainian land could enable Russia to make the claim that its territory - not just its army - was coming under attack from Western weapons as hostilities continue. This is because several western nations have been supplying Ukraine with weapons to help in its defence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is feared that this could lead to an intensification of the already-bloody conflict.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross has expressed fears the war could move into the long term.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Responding to the recent discovery of more mass graves in Ukraine, Peter Maurer told the BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet that reconciliation was becoming ever more difficult. Source: BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>