A Russian-appointed commander in the occupied Kherson region says the return of the city to Ukrainian control is “impossible” – and has ruled out a referendum on its future.
“The issue of Kherson’s return to Nazi Ukraine is out of the question. This is impossible. The Kherson region will develop economically,” Kirill Stremusov, the deputy head of the Russian-appointed administration, told Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency. Stremusov, according to CNN, is Ukrainian and has a long history on the margins of regional politics.
“Kyiv will no longer be able to impose its ugly Nazi policy on our land, with the aim of destroying its people and their identity,” he said.
Last month, Ukrainian prosecutors opened a case against Stremusov for “assisting a foreign state in carrying out subversive activities against Ukraine.”
There were rumors that the Russians would hold some kind of referendum in Kherson on whether the southern region should become an independent democracy, such as the self-proclaimed republics of Lugansk and Donetsk. But Stremusov said that would not happen.
He said the main task is to restore the region’s economy and that “no referendums are planned”.
Stremusov had occupied the international media in 2017 for a completely different reason, as he had used a baby to do exercises in the forest outside Kherson. In an outrageous video, Stremusov is seen swirling the baby around his body, boasting about his achievement.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Zelensky scoffed at plans for a referendum in Kherson: “Russia wants to hold a sham referendum somewhere on our earth? Even if they try, it will be as shameful as anything else” created “in Moscow for “to support the occupation of Ukraine,” he said.
Source: Capital
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