Russian-appointed puppet leader announces preparations for "referendum" in Zaporizhzhia Oblast but gives no concrete dates

UKRAINSKA PRAVDA – MONDAY, 8 AUGUST 2022, 14:29

Yevhen Balytskyi, a Russian collaborator and the so-called "head of the temporary administration of Zaporizhzhia Oblast", has said that he had signed an order to commence the preparations for the "referendum" for the oblast’s accession to Russia. However, he did not specify when exactly the referendum will be held.

Source: Russian Kremlin-aligned information agency RIA Novosti

Quote: "I am signing the order issued by the Central Electoral Commission…regarding the beginning of preparations for the referendum on the accession of Zaporizhzhia Oblast to the Russian Federation."

Details: However, Balytskyi did not specify when exactly the illegal referendum initiated by the Kremlin-appointed puppet leaders will be held.

Background:

• In July, Balytskyi claimed that the puppet administration wants to hold the so-called "referendum on joining the Russian Federation" at the beginning of autumn.
• Dmitriy Peskov, press secretary for the Russian President, has falsely claimed that Russian occupation authorities are not involved in organising the so-called "referendums" in the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts of Ukraine. Instead, Peskov has said that the referendums are organised by the local residents.
• On 7 August, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that if Russia holds its so-called referendums in the occupied territories of southern Ukraine, it will foreclose the possibility of future negotiations with Ukraine.

In July, the Russians conducted a poll in the occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhian oblasts regarding joining Russia; support for this idea amounted to only 30%. Russian propaganda efforts have not yet yielded significant results, and there is little support for Russia in the occupied territories of Ukraine.

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