The world should prepare for the fact that Russia uses fictitious "referendums" in Ukraine to claim that Russian territory is being attacked with NATO weapons. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this in an interview with CNN.

 "This is exactly what we have to be prepared for, that Russia is using these fake votes to further escalate the war in Ukraine," Stoltenberg said.

 "But these votes have no legitimacy and, of course, do not change anything," he said, echoing the statements of a number of Western leaders.

 "NATO's response is to increase support. The best way to end this war is to further strengthen the Ukrainians on the battlefield so that they can at some point sit down at the table and reach a solution that will be acceptable to Ukraine and preserve Ukraine as a sovereign independent state in Europe ", he added.

 "I support [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskiy's message that they [the people] should not participate in these 'referendums,'" Stoltenberg said.