Ingestion as in Crimea 2014
Kremlin to plan annexation of Donetsk and Luhansk
05/03/2022, 00:01
According to US estimates, Russia wants to annex the self-proclaimed “People’s Republics” in Ukraine as quickly as possible. In order to legitimize this, referendums are to be held. The Pentagon assumes that the Kremlin will manipulate the results of the voting.
According to US estimates, Russia wants to annex the self-proclaimed “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine in the near future. Russia probably wants to hold rigged referenda in mid-May on joining the two separatist regions in Donbass, said US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Michael Carpenter, on Monday.
A similar approach is planned in the southern Ukrainian region of Cherson, now controlled by Russia, where Moscow already wants to enforce the use of the ruble as a currency. Carpenter stressed that such fake referendums “were not considered legitimate” – like the referendum on the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014.
Referring to the reliability of US intelligence information regarding Russia’s plans, the ambassador said he found them “very credible”. “Unfortunately, we were more right than wrong in disclosing (Russia’s) next steps.” Weeks before the start of the Russian war of aggression once morest Ukraine, the United States had warned urgently of the danger of Russian forces invading the neighboring country. Washington was thus met with skepticism from Western allies.
Russian troops are making “minimal” advances in Donbass
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would recognize the two separatist republics of Luhansk and Donetsk. Three days later, on February 24, the Russian war of aggression once morest Ukraine began. After a failed attempt to overthrow the government in Kyiv, the Russian army is concentrating on southern and eastern Ukraine.
According to a representative of the US Department of Defense, Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov visited Donbass last week. He stayed there for “several days” but is now probably back in Russia. The Pentagon official might not confirm reports that Gerasimov was injured in a Ukrainian attack.
Earlier, reports citing Ukrainian officials said the Ukrainian army had bombed a Russian command center in the city of Izyum, south of Kharkiv. Gerasimov met Russian commanders there. Apparently he had already left the place at the time of the Ukrainian attack.
The Pentagon official said Monday that Russia was making “minimal” progress in Donbass. In this way, Russian soldiers would take over individual villages, but then lose control once more to the Ukrainian army.
