Ukraine: First result from 'sham' referendums shows 95% support for joining Russia

First partial voting results from four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine showed overwhelming majorities of residents in favour of joining Russia, Russian state news agency RIA said on Tuesday, after so-called referendums that Kyiv and the West have denounced as a sham.

Voting had taken place over five days in four regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - that make up about 15 percent of Ukrainian territory.

The exercise paves the way for President Vladimir Putin to annex the four areas, after which he could portray any Ukrainian attempt to recapture them as an attack on Russia itself.

He said on September 21 that he was willing to use nuclear weapons to defend the "territorial integrity" of Russia.

Ukraine has repeatedly warned that Russian annexation of additional territories would destroy any chance of peace talks.

RIA said the initial counts showed majorities ranging from 96.97 percent in Kherson region, based on 14 percent of votes counted, to 98.19 percent in Zaporizhzhia, based on 18 [ercent of the count.