You cannot both pretend that you value democracy while also pretending 143-5 isn't relevant.

I don't, by the way, believe your pretense that you value democracy. Otherwise you wouldn't side against the democratic nations.

But for as long as you're going to pretend that you care, you cannot also pretend that 143-5 is not an important vote.

International law reflects that you cannot invade a region and then enforce a referendum under wartime, to legitimise an annexation.

Please read this carefully

https://daccess-ods.un.org/tmp/8410858.51192474.html

Here are just two points that 143 nations of the world agreed to.

Condemns the organization by the Russian Federation of illegal so-called referendums in regions within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine and the attempted illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, following the organization of the above-mentioned referendums;

Declares that the unlawful actions of the Russian Federation with regard to the illegal so-called referendums held from 23 to 27 September 2022 in parts of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine that, in part, are or have been under the temporary military control of the Russian Federation, and the subsequent attempted illegal annexation of these regions, have no validity under international law and do not form the basis for any alteration of the status of these regions of Ukraine;