Bloomberg: russia plans to annex fifth part of Ukraine in September
Photo: Сергій Гайдай / Telegram
russia plans to annex occupied Ukrainian lands in mid-September
Bloomberg writes about this, referring to its sources.
As noted in the publication, the invaders are preparing so-called referendums on joining the russian federation.
"According to three interlocutors, officials are preparing to organize voting in areas currently controlled by the russian military and in any other areas that the russians will be able to capture in the coming weeks. Their goal is to hold a referendum on joining russia by September 15," the publication emphasizes.
According to Bloomberg's interlocutors, the project of Ukrainian territory annexation is managed by the first deputy head of the kremlin administration, Sergey Kiriyenko.
He regularly visits the occupied territories to observe the so-called "referendum" preparation.
Voting should take place in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Journalists note that it is still unclear what results of the vote russia can get after millions of Ukrainians left their homes after February 24.
But at the same time, they remind that the kremlin has "many years of experience in falsifying the results of internal elections."
According to Bloomberg, while russia has established an occupying power in the captured regions of Ukraine, introduced the ruble for payments, and started handing out their passports, many residents of ORDLO consider its troops as occupiers.
The publication also notes that the international community will likely consider any referendums illegal.
It is the same as it was when russia annexed Crimea in 2014 by voting under machine guns.
If the russian federation succeeds in annexing all the territories captured today, it will control approximately one-fifth of Ukraine. In particular, they will control the land connection with Crimea and transport routes in the Black Sea, which are crucial for Ukrainian exports.
Reference
As Rubryka reported earlier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the russian federation, Sergey Lavrov, said that the "geographic tasks" of the war had changed due to the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine.
He threatened to seize new territories if the West continued supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons.
German Foreign Minister Baerbock believes that russia's statements that the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine allegedly became the reason for the kremlin's decision to "expand the geography" of the war of aggression deeper into the country are nothing more than propaganda.
Read Rubryka's daily timeline of war: current news on Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression.
