Residents of Donbass during the referendum on the entry of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) into Russia were protected by the newest radar station (radar) of counter-battery warfare. This was reported on October 4 by RIA Novosti with reference to a source in the DPR law enforcement agencies.
"In order to minimize the shelling of Donetsk by artillery of Ukrainian troops during the days of the referendum, new Russian artillery reconnaissance stations were assigned to the DPR forces, which opened their positions almost from the first shot from the Ukrainian batteries," the agency source said.
It is reported that howitzers with a caliber of 203 mm worked together with the radar, and the firing range of a high-explosive shell reaches 37 km. The new stations provided howitzers with the coordinates of the positions of the Ukrainian artillery in a short time, which allowed them to be successfully hit.
The source added that during the counter-battery struggle, several American M777 howitzers were destroyed, which Ukrainian troops repeatedly used for shelling residential areas of Donetsk.
Referendums on the issue of reunification with the Russian Federation were held in the liberated territories in the period from September 23 to 27. According to the results of voting in the DPR, 99.23% supported joining Russia, 98.42% in the LPR, 93.11% in the Zaporozhye region, 87.05% in the Kherson region.
On September 28, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the referendums fully comply with the norms of international law. At the same time, observers from Venezuela, Italy, Germany, Latvia and other countries (a total of 133 people) who attended the referendums also recognized their results as legitimate.
Later, on September 30, the Kremlin signed agreements on the entry of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions into the Russian Federation, and on October 3, the State Duma ratified these agreements.
The special military operation to protect Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, continues. The decision to hold it was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the LPR and DPR due to shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in connection with which the authorities of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics turned to Moscow for help.
For more relevant videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
