New date comes into focus: why November 4 could become so important in the Ukraine war
Created: 09/08/2022, 11:10 am
Russia wants to hold a referendum in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
A date should already be fixed.
Munich/Moscow - War has been raging in Ukraine for more than half a year.
Russia wants to hold a referendum in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Such a referendum was held on the Crimean peninsula in 2014.
At that time, Russia annexed the peninsula.
The annexation is condemned internationally and Crimea is not recognized as part of Russia.
It has long been suspected that Vladimir Putin wants to tie the occupied territories in Ukraine to the Russian Federation by means of a referendum.
A possible date has now been released.
War in Ukraine: Russia plans referendum in occupied territories
The referendum is scheduled for November 4th.
United Russia party secretary general Andrei Turchak said that the date would be good for a referendum in the occupied territories like Donbass.
"It will be right and appropriate to hold referendums in Donbass and the liberated areas on November 4," Turchak told Ria Novosti news agency on Wednesday (September 7).
"National Unity Day is a historic date that unites us all in the space of the Russian world, which people in Donbass and Liberated Territories dreamed of," he added.
The "Day of People's Unity" is a public holiday in Russia.
It commemorates the liberation of Moscow from a Polish occupying army in 1612.
People wave flags at a concert marking the 8th anniversary of the annexation of Crimea (stock image).
© Ramil Sitdikov/IMAGO
“United Russia has been present in these areas since the first days of the special military operation.
We keep in touch with the people there every day, we hear what they say, we see how they feel.
They have been prepared for this for a long time," emphasized Turtschak.
Referendum in Ukraine: Russia wants to annex parts of Ukraine
According to the Russian state agency TASS, the survey institute "Insomar" asked residents in the Zaporizhia and Cherson regions how they would vote in such a referendum.
According to this, more than half of the interviewed residents want to see the regions in the areas as a part of Russia.
In an interview with the newspaper Izvestia
, the head of the Russian military administration in Zaporizhia, Yevgeny Balitsky, also declared
his support for the referendum.
"The sooner, the better for us.
We always welcome it, and if there is an initiative from the leadership of a big party project, then we will support that initiative and do our best, we will hold [the referendum] on November 4,” Balizki said.
(vk)