Occupiers put on hold pseudo-referendum due to Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson Oblast
STANISLAV POHORILOV – MONDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 2022, 13:58
Kiril Stremousov, the Russian-appointed governor of Kherson Oblast, has told the Russian media that the occupiers put on hold the so-called referendum on integrating Kherson Oblast into Russia.
Source: Russian Kremlin-aligned information agency TASS
Quote: "We have been preparing for the vote, and we wanted to hold the referendum soon. However, due to all the events that are happening right now [i.e. the Ukrainian counteroffensive], I think, we will put it on hold for now."
Details: Following this development, the collaborator started making excuses, saying that "Kherson belongs to Russia forever" with or without a vote, and that people are ready to "come running" to the referendum.
Background:
- On 7 August, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, warned Russia: "If the Russian occupying forces do hold at least one pseudo-referendum in the occupied territories of Ukraine, they will foreclose every possibility of negotiations."
- On 8 August, Dmitriy Peskov, spokesperson of President of Russia, responded to this statement with a propagandistic claim, saying it is not Russia that is planning to hold psuedo-referendums in the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts but the "local population", even though there were no signs of locals having such plans before the Russian invasion.
- On 29 August, the Kakhovka Operative Grouping reported that the Ukrainian forces destroyed almost every large bridge near Kherson and breached the first defence line of Russian forces in Kherson Oblast.
- Oleksandr Samoilenko, the Head of the Kherson Oblast State Council, reported that the Russian occupying administration won’t be able to hold the so-called referendum in the near future. Earlier, they planned to hold it on 11 September, on Russia’s single voting day.
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