Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of seeking to stage a fake independence referendum in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia it occupies.
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In a video message on Thursday evening, Mr Zelensky asked residents of the occupied areas not to provide any personal data, such as their passport numbers, that would be required of them by Russian forces.
“It’s not fair to conduct a census. (…) It is not to give you humanitarian aid of any kind. It is in fact to falsify a so-called referendum on your land, if the order to organize this comedy comes from Moscow”, warned the Ukrainian president.
Ukraine had already accused, in early March, Russia of seeking to stage a “referendum” in Kherson like the one which, in 2014, had sealed the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia, and which is considered illegal by Kyiv and by Westerners.
In eastern Ukraine, the pro-Russian separatist territories of Donetsk and Lugansk have declared their independence as “people’s republics” following referendums also deemed null and void by the international community.
“There will be no People’s Republic of Kherson. If someone wants a new annexation, more powerful sanctions will hit Russia”, threatened Mr. Zelensky.
Kherson is the first major city captured by Russian forces following their February 24 invasion of Ukraine. A little further north-east, the Russian army also controls a vast sector around the town of Zaporozhjia, which remains held by the Ukrainians.
