NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday denounced plans by Russian-backed forces to hold referendums in Ukraine, warning that they were yet another escalation in the war brought on by the Kremlin.
"Sham referendums have no legitimacy and do not change the nature of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. This is a further escalation in Putin's war," the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization wrote on Twitter.
"The international community must condemn this blatant violation of international law and step up support for Ukraine," he added.
