Pro-Moscow officials say occupied areas have voted to join Russia

A man casts his ballot at a polling station during a referendum in Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region (AP Photo)

Pro-Moscow officials said that residents in three of the four occupied areas of Ukraine have voted to join Russia in a Kremlin-orchestrated vote that has been dismissed by the US and Western allies as illegitimate.

According to Russia-installed election officials, 93% of the ballots case in the Zaporizhzhia region were in support of annexation, as were 87% of ballots in the southern Kherson region and 98% in Luhansk.