White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre underlined on Wednesday, during a press conference, that referenda happening in the occupied parts of Ukraine are a pretext for Russia to try annexing the former's territory.
"These referenda were manufactured and manipulated. Ukrainian civilians were forced to cast ballots under the watch of armed guards," Jean-Pierre shared. She underlined that "every aspect of these referenda processes was pre-staged and orchestrated by the Kremlin."
She stressed that the Russian government "falsified the results," adding that Ukrainians "do not want to be a part of Russia." In light of these events, the spokeswoman reiterated that the US will continue to support Kiev and confirmed that Washington will be sending another $1.1 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.
