Last updated: 3 hours ago
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image source,EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock
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With much of Donetsk and Zaporozhye still under Ukrainian control, it is difficult to know exactly how these referendums will turn out.
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Four Moscow-controlled regions of Ukraine have announced plans to hold a so-called emergency referendum on joining Russia, which would pave the way for Russia’s annexation.
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The Russian incursion has stopped in recent months, as Ukraine has recaptured territory in the north-east.
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Now, some Russian-backed officials in the Southeast say they want to start a referendum this week on eventual membership of Russia.
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Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 following a referendum that sparked international condemnation.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin was supposed to speak to the nation on Tuesday evening, local time, but was subsequently delayed.
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On Wednesday morning, local time, Putin gave a national speech on TV, saying that Russia has begun to enter a state of partial mobilization today. The Russian defense minister then announced the request for 300,000 reserve troops.
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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday that “a false ‘referendum’ will change nothing”.
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The international community has never recognized Russia’s annexation of Crimea, but it has long been clear that Russia has always intended to stamp the occupied territories in the same way, that is, local governments without real power.
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The annexation of more territory to Ukraine would allow the Kremlin to claim that Russian territory is threatened by NATO forces. Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24 this year.
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It has been speculated that Russia may announce a general mobilization to strengthen its armed forces in Ukraine after the Russian parliament issued tougher sentences for crimes such as evading military service, destroying military property and disobeying orders during mobilization or operations. of combat.
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Wednesday’s speech means that speculation has come true.
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Putin said Russia’s actions were not a bluff.
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“The territorial integrity, independence and freedom of our homeland will be protected and, I repeat, we will use all means”.
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Dmitry Medvedev, vice-president of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, said on Tuesday that the vote in the eastern region of Donetsk and Luhansk – also known as Donbass – would “change” it. Historic “and irreversible justice:” After the revision of our country’s constitution, no future Russian leader, no official will be able to overturn these decisions. “
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Soon thereafter, Russian-backed local authorities in Donetsk and Luhansk said they would hold referendums on 23 and 27 September. Both were granted independence from Putin three days before Russian forces invaded Ukraine from the east, south and north.
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Russian officials in the southern Kherson region also said they would vote, and the Russian-occupied part of Zaporozhye issued a similar statement. Russian state media said people could have voted in person or remotely.
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For months, Russian-installed officials have been trying to hold a referendum on autonomy. There is no hope of a free and fair vote, and the ongoing fighting makes it impracticable to annex areas not fully under their control. The Ukrainian counter-offensive has also made things more difficult.
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While much of Luhansk has been under Russian control since July, Ukrainian leaders in Luhansk announced Monday that Ukrainian forces have recaptured the village of Bilogivka.
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Much of Donetsk remains under Ukrainian control, although Russia has seized a narrow strip of land along the Sea of Azov.
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While Russian forces quickly captured Kherson early in the war, Ukrainian forces recaptured parts of the territory and Russian-backed officials faced continued attacks. A previous local attempt to vote was delayed.
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Much of the Zaporozhye Oblast is still under Ukrainian control, including the regional capital of the same name. Although the 2014 referendum in Crimea was widely considered illegal and unrecognized and boycotted by a large number of local residents, the Russian military still controls the peninsula.
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The Ukrainian army is not far from the city of Donetsk. On Monday, the Russian-backed mayor accused Ukrainian forces of bombing the city, killing at least 13 people.
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Any further attempts to annex the sovereign territory of Ukraine will surely anger the Kiev leadership and disappoint any hope of a negotiated settlement of the dispute.
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Oleksiy Kopytko, adviser to the Ukrainian defense minister, said the voting plans were a “sign of hysteria” in Moscow. “The occupiers are clearly in panic,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday evening.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the vote was a “scam”, while French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed the plan as “extreme” and “ridiculous” and clearly would not receive an international commitment. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the referendums have no legitimacy and represent “a further escalation of Putin’s war”.
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Respected Russian analyst Tatiana Stanovaya sees the latest operation as Russia’s “unequivocal ultimatum” for Ukraine and the West. If they don’t respond appropriately, Russia will fully mobilize its armed forces to go to war, she said. According to Putin, the annexation would give him the power to use any weapon in protected areas that Moscow considers Russian territory.
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In some parts of Russia, voices have increased calling for a full mobilization of the armed forces. President Vladimir Putin still described the invasion as a “special military operation”.
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In a sign that the Kremlin is gearing up to support the referendum, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that since the beginning of the operation, Russia has wanted the residents to decide: “The whole situation now clearly shows that they want to build the own destiny. The boss. “
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