LIVE UPDATES: DPR, LPR, Kherson & Zaporozhye to Hold Referendum on Joining Russia on September 23-27

The leadership of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) condemns plans to hold referendums on "Ukraine's occupied territories," the organization said in a statement.

"The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau, OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Margareta Cederfelt and Matteo Mecacci, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, condemned the plans to hold “referenda” on Ukraine’s occupied territories," it said.

"Any elections or referenda on the territory of Ukraine can only be announced and conducted by legitimate authorities in compliance with national legislation and international standards. Therefore the planned “referenda” will be illegal," according to the statement.

"After the referendum, the entire Kherson Region within its administrative boundaries will become part of the Russian Federation," Stremousov said.

The Canadian government denounces Russia's planned referendums in Eastern Ukraine and does not intend to recognize the results, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.

"Canada denounces Russia’s planned 'referendums' in occupied regions of Ukraine. We will never recognize them. This is a blatant violation of international law. It is a further escalation of war, and it is unacceptable," Trudeau said via Twitter.

The number of Ukrainians seeking temporary protection in Estonia may increase significantly in the coming months, as the civilian infrastructure in Ukraine is seriously damaged and unsuitable to survive the looming cold winter, Veiko Kommusaar, deputy chancellor of the interior ministry, said on Tuesday.

"If today we have accepted and granted temporary protection to slightly more than 35,000 people due to the combination of these bad circumstances, we consider it quite likely that 45,000 people may have received temporary protection in Estonia by the end of January," Kommusaar said in an interview with Estonian broadcaster ERR.

Kommusaar assumed that the number of recipients of temporary protection may increase to over 50,000 people, with those refugees who do not seek help from the state will be added to them. Currently, there are about 15,000 such refugees in Estonia.

According to Kommusaar, the cold winter will certainly play a role in this issue, as well as in how quickly it will be possible to restore communication and heating in the districts.

The European Union threatens Russia with new sanctions in the event of referenda in the LPR, DPR, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

"Russia, its political leadership, and all those involved in these 'referenda' and other violations of international law in Ukraine will be held accountable, and additional restrictive measures against Russia would be considered," the statement says.

The head of the Zaporozhye regional administration, Yevgeny Balitsky, has said that there will be a referendum on joining Russia on September 23-27, and that an absolute majority of people wants to take part in the vote.

83 percent of people in the LPR, 80 percent in the DPR, 72 percent in Zaporozhye and 65 percent in Kherson intend to vote in a referendum to join Russia, as the poll held on September 19 reveals.

"We share common language, traditions and culture. These are our people! Let's support and protect them!" he wrote on his Telegram channel.

The region will hold a referendum the same day as the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.

Rogov said that the referendum would be held in the liberated territories of the region, then the rest of Zaporozhye will be liberated.

Meanwhile, DPR Head Denis Pushilin said that "Donbass is returning home," as he announced the date for the referendum to join Russia.

The DPR head added he has no doubts in the results of the referendum.

The restrictions apply to Anapa, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Gelendzhik, Krasnodar, Kursk, Lipetsk, Rostov-on-Don, Simferopol and Elista airports.

Turkish banks Ishbank and Denizbank confirmed to Sputnik on Monday that they had stopped operations with Russia's Mir bank cards in connection with UK and US sanctions against Moscow.