Posted on 05/11/2022 9:28:06 AM PDT by blam
Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency is reporting for the first time Wednesday that the Russian military occupied southern Ukrainian city of Kherson will soon petition the Kremlin to become part of the Russian Federation.
It was in late April that a pro-Moscow “military-civilian administration” was installed after Kherson fell to the invading forces, complete with a local transition to the Russian ruble. While the news hasn’t been officially confirmed by the Kremlin, it’s significant that the report surfaced through RIA and not Ukrainian or opposition sources, suggesting such referendums or even simple declared annexations in captured regions could be imminent.
Image source: The Guardian
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has in his latest statements invoked Crimea – which came under Russian control due to a Kremlin-backed ‘popular referendum’ in 2014 – as a model for what could happen regarding Kherson’s political future. He stressed it would be “up to local residents” and that the process would be “absolutely clear and legitimate”.
Additionally, according to The Moscow Times, “Occupied Kherson, as well as the Pryazovske region on the Sea of Azov, reportedly began trading with Crimea shortly after Russian forces installed pro-Moscow administrations in the area.”
And Reuters writes of more signs of annexation of the city coming soon as follows: “TASS cited the Russian-controlled administration as saying that pension bodies and a banking system would be created from scratch for the region, and that branches of a Russian bank could be open there before the end of May,” according to its report.
However, some correspondents are saying there won’t be a referendum, or possibly just the appearance of one as a pretext…
Kirill Stremousov, a Russian-aligned figure in Kherson, says a referendum is not needed to make Kherson a people’s republic
Kherson is going the route of direct annexation, which procedurally differs from what Russia has broached for Luhansk or Donetsk
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) May 11, 2022
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s defense ministry is vowing that the local population will “resist” such annexation attempts, despite eastern and southern areas of the country having large pockets of pro-Russian and Russian-speaking citizens.
Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Malya in fresh statements said this week that the fierceness of local Ukrainian resistance has prevented this scenario from taking effect thus far.
“Russians failed to capture the territories instantly as it was in 2014. They do not have such support from the local population. On the contrary, our citizens strongly resist, not only the citizens but also the state of Ukraine,” she described.
Southern Axis Update:
By all indications, #Russian forces will announce the creation of a #Kherson People’s Republic or possibly directly forcibly annex Kherson Oblast in the coming weeks and possibly as soon as May 9.https://t.co/Ya6pu4yieD pic.twitter.com/HLEocJaHaL
— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) May 8, 2022
“But you have to understand that we cannot discuss in public the ways in which the state may act in the temporarily occupied territories. But the fact that the so-called referendums have not yet taken place and cannot take place shows that Ukraine is doing its job effectively,” Malyar emphasized.
It was a Russkie with ties to the FSB. Ukraine had nothing to do with it.
Short assertive sentences is your forte. Got all 5s at the English language training sessions?
There was between 500,000 to 800,000 Ukrainians marching in the streets. Hardly a “George Soros Orange Revolution.”
“Regular citizens”, LOL. Are you getting ready for the American weapons to return on the home turf via the southern border?
Russia will absorb these pieces and gradually expand from there. Most, if not all of Ukraine will be incorporated into Mother Russia in the next 2-5 years. Ukraine’s fighting is delaying the inevitable.
Norse, if it wasn’t regular people, they’d at least hold a fake referendum. As it is, they know that soldiers will get their throats slit as they deliver the fake ballots.
>Crimea has 125% voter turnout
Hey Democrat party shill, just because you guys cheat all the time doesn’t mean everyone else does
Yes, some say that the Upper Peninsula is a different country.
For one thing, they don't suffer Flatland fools gladly...
That’s why all reputable international pollsters support the legitimacy of the Crimean vote.
Thats by definition cheating. And don’t call me a Democrat when you’re a Daily Stormer zoomer troll. Go back to leaving racist comments on tik tok.
With Putin’s military appointed stooges in charge.
A quick Google search for “Crimean referendum irregularities” shows the opposite to your lie, except a German pollster. But the Germans sold out to the Russkies decades ago with Mama Merkel the Russian agent.
>Daily Stormer zoomer troll racist tik tok.
Gee grandpa did you just quickly throw every word you can think of into one jumbled sentence?
And yeah no sorry there has been zero proof of any tampering in the Crimea elections, try again
“The truth is that once Ukrainian tyranny”
No. The only truth is the Putin tyranny, you Putin stooge.
kinda like CA waiting for the illegals to reach critical-mass and claiming the reconquesta...
Liberal twat is more like it...
“Zero proof”
There’s Zero Proof you have an IQ higher than Koko the gorilla. Go back to drawing swastikas in your middle school bathroom kiddy.
I like how you didn’t ping me despite directly responding to me. Good. Very good. But next time make the comment hours later if you don’t want me to notice it.
Come on, chump, show me the proof that Crimea held fake elections, let’s see this amazing evidence you have
I only seriously debate full grown goblins, not the ones that just popped out of Sauron’s you-know-where.
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