Zelenskiy slams Moscow-staged votes

STORY: "This farce in the occupied territories cannot even be called an imitation of a referendum," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine would defend its people still living under occupation in the four areas where votes were held - the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions - and in parts of Kharkiv region still under occupation.

The president also said there would soon be good news from the front, but offered no details for the moment.

"We are advancing and will liberate our land," he said.