The United Russia party led by President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (7) proposed organizing a referendum on 4 November to annex the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russian forces.
“The cities of Donetsk, Luhansk and other Russian cities will finally be able to return to their original ports. And the Russian world, currently divided by official borders, will regain its integrity,” said the party’s General Secretary Andrei Torchak.
The head of the United Russia party suggested November 4 as the date for the referendum, the date on which Russia celebrates National Unity Day, to commemorate the 17th century popular uprising that led to the expulsion of the Polish occupation forces from Moscow.
Turchak cited the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk (east), the independence of which was recognized by the Russian government before The beginning of the attack on February 24Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, which were largely occupied by the Russian army.
“We will prepare for this date,” one of the senior officials appointed by Moscow in Kherson, Kirill Strymoosov, was quoted by Russian news agencies.
Russian troops occupy parts of the territory, mainly in southern Ukraine, including the city of Kherson, which before the intervention had a population of 280 thousand. Since 2014, pro-Russian separatists have controlled most of Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
In March of that year, Russia organized a referendum in the Ukrainian peninsula, which it annexed after the vote, preceded by the intervention of Russian special forces.
In recent months, the Russian occupation authorities in Ukraine have repeatedly mentioned the idea of an annexation referendum for Russia, but the Kherson government said on Monday that the possibility of organizing such a vote was uncertain due to the counterattack. initiated by the Ukrainian forces in the region.
Russia has distributed Russian passports to residents of some occupied territories of Ukraine, which it has also done in recent years in the eastern regions controlled by the separatists.
