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GISMETEO.RU
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Nation    

Russia prepares to annex parts of Ukraine
Journal Staff Report

KYIV, Sept 20 – The Russian occupation authorities in eastern and southern regions of Ukraine announced plans Tuesday to hold referenda this week to become integral parts of Russia, a plan that may further escalate the war.

The scheduling of referendums starting Friday in the Luhansk, Kherson and partly Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions came after a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said the votes are needed and as Moscow is losing ground in the invasion it began nearly seven months ago.

Former President Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council chaired by Putin, said referendums that fold regions into Russia itself would make redrawn frontiers “irreversible” and enable Moscow to use “any means” to defend them, The Associated Press reported.

In 2014, Russia sent troops into Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and then held a referendum there that paved the way for its annexation by Moscow.

The upcoming votes, in territory Russia already controls, are all but certain to go Moscow’s way. But they were quickly dismissed as illegitimate by Western leaders who are backing Kyiv with military and other support that has helped its forces seize momentum on battlefields in the east and south.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denounced the planned votes as a sham.

“The referendums will change nothing,” he told reporters at U.N. headquarters where he is attending the General Assembly’s annual gathering of world leaders. “It’s an act of desperation for Russia, but it is not going to help them.”

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States would “never recognize this territory as anything other than part of Ukraine,” he said, adding that the Kremlin effort reflects Russia’s setbacks on the battlefield.

“These are not the actions of a confident country. These are not acts of strength,” he said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is also attending the U.N. General Assembly in New York, said: “It is very, very clear that these sham referendums cannot be accepted.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said referendum plans amounted to “cynicism.”

“Russia declared war ... and now it explains that in this same region it is going to organize a referendum. If this were not tragic, it might be funny,” he said, adding that the votes would have “no legal consequences.”

Authorities installed by Russia in occupied areas of four Ukrainian regions had outlined plans to hold referendums on membership to the Russian Federation later this month. They have been condemned by Ukraine.

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics called for more sanctions against Russia and more weapons for Ukraine, tweeting: “We must say no to Russian blackmail.”

In another signal that Russia is digging in for a protracted and possibly ramped-up conflict, the Kremlin-controlled lower of house of parliament voted Tuesday to toughen laws against desertion, surrender and looting by Russian troops. Lawmakers also voted to introduce possible 10-year prison terms for soldiers refusing to fight.

If approved, as expected, by the upper house and then signed by Putin, the legislation would strengthen commanders’ hands against failing morale reported among soldiers.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there are no prospects for a diplomatic settlement of the conflict. Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, said on his messaging app channel that the referendums are important to protect their residents and would “completely change” Russia’s future trajectory.

“After they are held and the new territories are taken into Russia’s fold, a geopolitical transformation of the world will become irreversible,” Medvedev said.

“An encroachment on the territory of Russia is a crime that would warrant any means of self-defense,” he said, adding that Russia would enshrine the new territories in its constitution so no future Russian leader could hand them back. (ap/ez)




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