Faced with the advance of Ukrainian troops, a campaign of rapid accession to Russia begins in the breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, supported by Moscow. In the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, a body called the Chamber of Citizens appealed to the local leadership on Monday to hold a referendum on the connection soon.
A little later, in the People’s Republic of Donetsk, the House of Citizens followed up with the same request, as reported by the Russian news agency TASS. The people of the Kherson region are also demanding a referendum, said Russian-appointed head of government Kirill Stremoussov.
postponed referendums
Preparations for such referendums have been underway for some time, both in the breakaway republics and in areas newly conquered by Russia. In Kherson, they were initially postponed to 4 November because of Ukrainian advances.
It is still too early to talk about a date, Luhansk Civic Chamber President Alexei Karjakin said on Russian television. The background of the campaign is unclear. The People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk have been controlled from Moscow on a very small scale since 2014. But when there has been pressure for a union with Russia, Moscow has so far reacted cautiously.
Support for membership application
This time, support for the desire for membership came from the Russian parliament. “This must happen quickly, this is the will of the people,” said Duma deputy Viktor Vodolatsky of the Kremlin’s United Russia party. Referendums are expected to take place before the end of autumn.
The head of the Ukrainian administration of Luhansk, Serhiy Hajdaj, suspected that the annexation of Moscow regions would give rise to a general mobilization. According to Moscow, the Ukrainian recapture of Donetsk and Luhansk would then be an attack on Russian territory, he told Radio Svoboda.