Kyiv, August 9.- Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy has warned that if referendums are held in Russian military-controlled areas, they will withdraw from any negotiation process with Russia, the Presidential Press Service reported today.
As the Russian-controlled provinces of Kherson and Zaporozhie prepare to hold consultations on their inclusion in the Eurasian nation’s territory, Ukraine’s president called on the West to tighten sanctions against Moscow to force it to end the special military operation .
Zelenskyy’s comments come in line with an announcement made the day before by Zaporozhye Province leader Evgueni Balitski, who signed a decree to hold the voting process on Russia’s admission to the region.
The chairman signed the relevant document during the forum of the territory’s social movement entitled “Together with Russia”, which, according to the Sputnik agency, is taking place in the city of Melitopol.
More than 700 delegates from across the region attended the event. The referendum decision was unanimously supported.
In turn, a member of the Main Council of the Civil-Military Administration of Zaporozhye Vladimir Rogov presented the statement of the forum participants.
“On the basis of the principle of free choice, considering the opinion of each resident of our region as the main value, we declare our intention to hold a referendum on the accession of the Zaporozhye region to the Russian Federation as a full-fledged entity,” he says, the text. They also invited international experts to observe the voting process planned for the month of September.
Earlier, Deputy Minister for the Reintegration of the Occupied Ukrainian Territories Anatoly Stelmay announced that the possibility of introducing criminal liability for participation in referendums on accession to Russia is being studied. (Text and photo: PL)
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