The authorities designated by Russia in the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia, partially occupied by the Russian army, announced this Monday (08.08.2022) that they would officially start preparations for a referendum on the annexation of the region to Russia.
“I signed an order for the Central Election Commission to start work on organizing a referendum on the annexation of the Zaporizhia region to Russia,” said Yevgeny Balitsky, head of the civil and military administration in the Russian-controlled southern territories. .
Balitsky had previously indicated that the vote could be held in the fall.
Ukrainian President Volodimyr Zelensky has warned that peace talks with Russia would be impossible if referendums are held in the Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine.
“It is not we who organize the referendum, it is the inhabitants of these regions who have those plans,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov replied on Monday.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the Russian army has conquered large areas of two southern regions, Jershon and Zaporiyia.
In addition, in 2014 Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula, in the Black Sea, after organizing a referendum. However, the vast majority of the international community did not recognize the results of the vote.
afp/ria novosti/reuters /rr