Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev takes part in a military parade on Victory Day, marking the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia May 9, 2022 . Portal/Maxim Shemetov/ File Photo
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- Russian separatists plan referendums in Ukraine
- Votes would allow Russia to annex 15% of Ukraine
- The West would then face a possible battle with Russia
- Ukraine says Russia is afraid
- The Russian parliament passes a law on mobilization crimes
LONDON, Sept 20 (Portal) – Russia on Tuesday backed plans by separatists it backs in Ukraine to hold referendums paving the way for the annexation of more tracts of land, a direct challenge to the West, sharply escalating the conflict could.
After nearly seven months of war, including a critical defeat on the battlefield in northeastern Ukraine, Putin is pondering his next steps in a conflict that has sparked the biggest confrontation with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
In seemingly choreographed motions, Russian-backed officials lined up on 15% of Ukraine’s territory – an area the size of Hungary or Portugal – to call for referenda on joining Russia. Continue reading
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The self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR), which Putin recognized as independent shortly before the invasion, as well as the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions have asked for a vote in less than 24 hours.
Luhansk and Donetsk officials said referendums would be held in a few days, September 23-27.
Asked about the referendums, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: “From the very beginning we said that the peoples of the respective regions should decide their destiny, and the whole current situation confirms that they want to be the masters of their destiny.”
If Moscow formally annexed a vast additional portion of Ukraine, Putin would essentially challenge the United States and its European allies to risk a direct military confrontation with Russia, the world’s largest nuclear power.
“All this talk of immediate referendums is an absolutely unequivocal ultimatum from Russia to Ukraine and the West,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of political analysis firm R.Politik.
“The West fears referendums”
Dmitry Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, backed the referenda, which he said would change the course of Russian history and give the Kremlin more power to defend what was he said become Russian territory.
“Trespassing on Russian territory is a crime that allows you to use all forces of self-defense,” Medvedev said in a Telegram post. “That’s why these referenda are so feared in Kyiv and in the West.”
“It is equally important that after the amendments to the constitution of our state, no future leader of Russia, no official will be able to reverse these decisions.”
Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, said he would support the incorporation of parts of Ukraine that voted to join Russia.
Ukraine said the threat of referendums was “naive blackmail” and a sign that Russia was scared.
“This is what the fear of defeat looks like. The enemy is afraid and veils primitively,” said Andriy Yermak, chief of staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Ukraine will solve the Russian question. The threat can only be removed by force.”
Ukraine says it will not rest until all Russian soldiers are expelled from its territory. Kyiv says it will never accept Russian control of its territory and has urged the West to supply more and better weapons to fight Russian forces.
MAJOR CONFLICT?
US President Joe Biden warned in March that a direct confrontation between the NATO military alliance and Russia would mean World War III. Biden and NATO leaders have cautiously said they don’t want NATO troops in direct conflict with Russian troops.
However, Putin and top Russian generals and officials are already portraying the conflict as a broader competition with the West, which they say has sent Ukraine advanced weapons and is helping to inform and train Ukrainian forces that end up killing Russian troops .
Putin on Friday brushed aside the lightning-fast Ukrainian counter-offensive of recent weeks, portraying the conflict as an attempt to thwart what he called a Western plot to divide and destroy Russia. Continue reading
Russia’s parliament on Tuesday approved a bill to increase penalties for a variety of crimes, including desertion, damage to military property and disobedience, when committed during military mobilization or in combat situations. Continue reading
The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was ousted in Ukraine’s Maidan revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, while Russian-backed separatists in Donbass — made up of Donetsk and Luhansk — sought to break away from Kiev’s release control.
Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, the largest land invasion in Europe since World War II. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the invasion.
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Portal reporting; Edited by Andrew Heavens, Raissa Kasolowsky, Angus MacSwan and Alex Richardson
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