Pay attention. If the disputed territories referendum votes to join Russia then Russia will have the rights to use nuclear weapons to defend the new territories.
(www.themoscowtimes.com)https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/09/20/pro-moscow-officials-in-occupied-ukraine-to-hold-russia-annexation-votes-a78844"Encroachment onto the territory of Russia is a crime which allows you to use all self-defense forces," Medvedev, who is now the deputy head of Russia's Security Council, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
And
“To guarantee 'victory,' Putin is ready to hold referendums immediately to get the right (as he thinks) to use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory,” Stanovaya said in a Telegram post on Tuesday, adding that Putin could use the possible annexation “to threaten the use of nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory.”