Russian authorities postpone "referendums" in occupied territories of Ukraine and send their spin doctors back to Russia due to Ukrainian counteroffensive

Russian authorities have postponed the sham "referendums" in the occupied territories of Donbas, as well as in Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts. Local residents were expected to vote on whether they want the occupied territories to "join" the Russian Federation.

Source: Meduza, a Latvia-based Russian news outlet, citing sources close to the Kremlin

Details: Meduza’s sources explained that the only reason why Russia has decided to postpone the referendum is the success of the Ukrainian counteroffensive on the Kharkiv front.

The sources stressed that the Kremlin-aligned spin doctors who had been operating in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia oblasts have been recalled.

One of the sources said: "All of them fled the f**k out of there. They received an order to go back home." 

However, the Russian spin doctors who were ordered to prepare the sham "referendum" in Kherson Oblast are staying there, at least for now.

Meduza recalls that in early September, Andrey Turchak, the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Secretary of the General Council of the United Russia party, suggested that it would be "right and symbolic" to hold the sham "referendums" on 4 November, when Russia celebrates Unity Day. This is the first time a Russian official of Turchak’s rank announced a specific date for the "referendums".

According to Meduza’s sources, early on in the war the Kremlin was convinced that the occupied territories of Ukraine would have been annexed as early as April. Due to the Russian army’s failures on the front, the date has been pushed back to May, then to 11 September, when regional elections are held in Russia.

However, it was not possible to hold the sham "referendums" in September either. As a result, Meduza’s sources claim that under the pressure of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who "cannot wait" to annex the occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, the administration of the Russian President has set a "final" date for the "referendum", 4 November.

One of the sources quoted by Meduza said that the Russian-controlled "military-civilian administrations" of the occupied territories of Ukraine were supposed to officially inaugurate preparations for the November "referendums" as early as next week. These plans have now been halted and "no one is talking about November anymore".

Sources close to the Kremlin stressed that the Russian government is currently uncertain when it will be able to resume the discussion of specific dates when the "referendums" might be held; this is entirely dependent on the further unfolding of Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian President, declined to comment on the fate of Russia’s "referendums" in Ukraine when approached by Meduza.

Background: 

• Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion on 24 February, Russia has occupied more territories of Ukraine in Donbas, as well as parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. In order to claim the captured lands as Russian, the occupiers have planned to hold several sham "referendums", expecting the local residents to agree to join the Russian Federation. Each time, however, their plans were thwarted by local residents’ resistance and, most recently, the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
• On 5 September, Kyrylo Stremousov, the Russian-appointed governor of Kherson Oblast, told the Russian media that the occupiers put on hold the so-called "referendum" on integrating Kherson Oblast into Russia, due to "all the events that were happening" [i.e. the Ukrainian counteroffensive]. 
• On 7 September, Andrey Turchak, the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Secretary of the General Council of the United Russia party, suggested holding the so-called "referendums on joining the Russian Federation" in the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia in early November.
• On 9 September, Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Peskov pretended that Russia had nothing to do with the sham "referendums" in the occupied territories of Donbas, saying that the issue of holding these on Unity Day [which Russia celebrates on 4 November - ed.] is up to the citizens who live in these territories.

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