Putin aims for referendum in Kherson - partial annexation based on historical example?
Created: 07/01/2022Updated: 07/01/2022 11:23 am
By: Michelle Brey
The Ukraine war continues.
A referendum is to be held in the eastern Ukrainian city of Cherson.
What is Putin planning?
Moscow - The situation in the Ukraine war remains very serious.
Although Ukrainian troops were able to recapture the symbolic Snake Island, fierce fighting is still raging in the east of the country.
You can find an overview of the military situation in our news ticker.
The events in the southern city of Cherson are also attracting attention in the escalating Ukraine conflict.
What is Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin planning?
Ukraine-News: Cherson occupied by Russians - referendum planned
Since the Russian war of aggression began on February 24, there have been reports that Moscow is seeking referenda on whether occupied territories should join the Russian Federation.
On June 29, 2022, the pro-Russian military administration of the occupied city of Kherson reported via Telegram: "Yes, we are preparing for a referendum - and we will hold it." become a member of Russia.
According to earlier information, the referendum should take place in the autumn.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently said that such a decision would not be made by the Russian leadership, but solely by the population in the regions under Russian control.
However, the Ukrainian government assumes that such alleged referendums based on the model of the annexed Crimea and the eastern Ukrainian separatist areas of Luhansk and Donetsk are only possible with the consent or rather on the orders of Moscow around Vladimir Putin.
US experts on the Ukraine war: what Putin is apparently planning now
The conditions for the annexation of areas such as Cherson set Russia according to the model of the so-called "Taurien government" from before 1917.
The renowned US think tank “Institute for the Study of War” (ISW) reported on this, citing the Ukrainian Resistance Center (“Ukrainian Resistance Center”).
In the course of this, the report of June 29 also mentioned Zaporizhia Oblast.
Russian authorities may be preparing to annex areas in southern Ukraine as the "Governorate of Tauria," it said.
The "Government of Tauria" was once - in the times of Tsar Nicholas II - a historical province in the Russian Empire.
It included the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
As the US think tank ISW wrote, in the Tauria scenario, the left bank of Kherson Oblast and part of Zaporizhia would be directly annexed to Russia - "probably as a single entity".
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Ukraine-News: Train connection between Crimea, Kherson and Melitopol
Meanwhile, Russia postponed the start of a train connection between Crimea, annexed in 2014, and the cities of Cherson and Melitopol, announced for Friday (July 1).
The pro-Russian Crimean authorities referred to security concerns.
Bus connections should be available as announced.
After the annexation of Crimea, bus services were once discontinued.
Among other things, Russia is trying to cement its control over the areas occupied during the Ukraine war by issuing Russian passports and introducing the ruble as its currency.
(mbr with dpa)