View satellite images of Maxar at Kherson Airport and deployment in Kherson, Ukraine, on April 7. (Maxar Technologies / Getty Images)
Russian troops have taken control of the council in the occupied city of southern Kherson as they prepare to hold a poll on the future of the wider region, urging people to vote for its “independence”. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the plan as a “fake referendum”.
This is a move straight from the Russian military book.
A similar referendum was held in Crimea in 2014, and only days later it was the reason for the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula by Russia.
The UN General Assembly has declared the Crimean referendum invalid. Western countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union, have also called the annexation and referendum illegal.
Separately, Russian-backed separatists held their own votes in 2014 after declaring two districts in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine independent.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognize the two units – called the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics – as independent is seen as the starting volley in Russia’s war against Ukraine in late February.
Another breakaway region backed by Russia, South Ossetia in Georgia, also announced plans in March to hold a referendum on joining Russia. Georgia said such a move was “unacceptable”.
Following the same scenario, Russia is now calling for the Kherson region to become a “Kherson People’s Republic”.
Kherson is a strategically important city on the Black Sea coast with a population of nearly 300,000 people. Its citizens continue to oppose Russia, organizing protests and marches even after the occupying forces took over the city center.
President Zelensky welcomed the refusal of his people to give their support to Russian forces.
“People [in occupied towns] have shown by their protest their attitude towards the occupiers; [they have] showed that Ukraine will definitely win, “Zelensky said in an evening video address Monday.
Referring to the Russians’ planned referendum, Zelensky said:
Russia wants to organize a fake “referendum” somewhere on our land? Even if they try, it will be as shameful as anything else “created” in Moscow to support the occupation of Ukraine. “
Russian forces have occupied the Kherson region since the first weeks of the war, but according to Kherson regional MP Yuri Sobolevsky, they have “allowed” the mayor’s office to operate in a “reduced format” under Ukrainian control until Monday.
This is no longer the case. Kherson Mayor Igor Kolikhaev said on his Facebook page that “armed men entered the building of the Kherson Municipal Council, took the keys and changed our security with their own.”
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