One of the Russian negotiators in meetings with Kyiv said this Wednesday that the Ukrainian territories conquered by Russia militarily would be able to hold referendums in July with a view to annexing them.
“I don’t want to make predictions. […]but I believe that the liberated territories will hold a referendum at about the same time, which is logicalThis was stated by the chairman of the committee on international relations of the lower house of the Russian parliament (Duma) Leonid Slutsky, whose words are quoted by the RIA Novosti agency.
“I expect this to happen in July,” added the MP, who is part of the Russian delegation to the peace talks with Ukraine, which have stalled for several weeks.
Russia considers “liberated territories” the Ukrainian regions occupied in cooperation with separatist movements.: the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics, whose independence was recognized by Moscow, and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, partially recaptured since the end of February.
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After its occupation, authorities under Moscow’s control introduced the Russian ruble as a currency, granted Russian citizenship to its inhabitants, and established Russian communications networks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently said that the inhabitants of these territories “should be able to choose their own future”showing confidence that they will choose their autonomy and independence from Kyiv.
The military offensive launched by Russia in the early hours of February 24 in Ukraine has already killed more than 4,000 civilians and forced more than 14 million from their homes, more than 6.8 million of them to neighboring countries, according to the latest UN figures. data.
