"There was no desire to tidy up or add anything": Putin comments on results of Russia's sham referendums in Ukraine 

Putin commented on the sham referendum results during a meeting with laureates and finalists of Russian Federation's Teacher of the Year competition.

"The results of the referendum that you mentioned, frankly speaking, not only pleased me, but also surprised me," the Russian dictator said. 

Then Putin conceded that the fake referendums results were so good that the organizers lacked any "desire to correct, clean up, or add anything":

"I assure you, and the observers made sure of this, that there was no desire to fix something, to tidy something up, or to add anything. We decided for ourselves, and I decided for myself - it will be as people want. As people express their will, it shall be so."

And he added one more thing that has nothing to do with any elections in Russia - the claim that the votes were transparent and objective:

"The results, of course, are more than convincing, completely transparent and not subject to any doubt. These are objective data of people's mood."

Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian president signed constitutional "laws" on the inclusion of four partially occupied Ukrainian regions: a formality that completes their annexation. The Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, as well as the Donetsk and Luhansk "People's Republics" (self-proclaimed Moscow-backed DPR and LPR areas) are added to Russian Constitution as constituent entities of the Russian Federation. However, none of these Ukrainian territories are fully controlled by Russian troops, nor were they at the time of the fake referendums.