WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced Russian-backed referenda in Ukraine on Thursday as an attempted land grab that is illegal and violates international law. “The Kremlin’s sham referenda are a futile effort to mask what amounts to a further attempt at a land grab in Ukraine,” Blinken said in a statement. “To be clear: the results were orchestrated in Moscow and do not reflect the will of the people of Ukraine.” (Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chris Reese)