The administration set up by the Russians in the occupied part of the Zaporizhia region of Ukraine plans to hold a referendum later this year on its union with Russia, Russian news agencies quoted one of its members as saying.
“The people will decide on the future of the Zaporizhia region. The referendum is scheduled for this year,” TASS quoted Vladimir Rogov as saying, without elaborating on the timing.
A Ukrainian official rejected the plan, saying locals would never vote for integration into Russia.
About two-thirds of the region is under Russian control, part of southern Ukraine occupied by Moscow at the start of the war, including much of the neighboring Kherson province, where Russian-deployed officials have also discussed plans for a referendum.
Rogov said the administration would draw up plans on how to proceed with the referendum, even if Russia could not gain control of the entire region. The city of Zaporizhia, which is the main urban center, is still under the control of Ukraine.
About 1.6 million people lived in the region before the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Proposals to integrate Kherson or Zaporizhia into Russia run counter to President Vladimir Putin’s assurances at the start of the invasion that Moscow has no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory.
The Kremlin has said that it is up to the people living in these areas to decide on their future.
Ukraine has stated that any referendum held under Russian occupation will be illegal and its results will be fake. Moscow, along with its allies, held a referendum in Crimea in 2014, which was annexed and annexed by Russia, and parts of the two eastern provinces declared independence.
The mayor of Melitopolis, a city in the Zaporizhia region, despised the latest referendum plan.
“They have started to say openly that they are preparing to hold a referendum in our city and in the occupied territories of the Zaporizhia region. But today they have clearly realized that they will not be able to gather the people to vote even with their weapons,” said Melitopolis Mayor Ivan Fitodo .
“Now they are starting a war propaganda, realizing that they do not have the support, and that it is unclear when it will happen. In my opinion, it will never happen,” Fyodorov, who was abducted by Russian forces in his early days, said on Ukrainian television. of war.
A Russian-appointed official, Rogov, also said the first shipments of grain would depart from the port of Berdyansk on the Sea of ​​Azov later this week, according to TASS.
Ukraine says any such cargo from the occupied ports would amount to illegal looting. The embargo on exports from Ukraine – one of the world’s largest grain exporters – has pushed up world prices and raised fears of a global food crisis. The Kremlin blames Kyiv and Western sanctions for the situation.
Source: Capital
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