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Ukraine's separatist leaders formally ask Russia for annexation after holding illegal referendums

2022-09-28T13:59:44.993Z


The US asks its citizens to leave Russia to avoid possible recruitment in case of dual nationality The leaders of the separatist regions of Donbas, in the east of the country, traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to formalize the annexation to Russia after holding referendums considered illegal by the international community. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, has spoken precisely about this region, warning that the Russian military campaign will continue until it reaches "at least" the internal


The leaders of the separatist regions of Donbas, in the east of the country, traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to formalize the annexation to Russia after holding referendums considered illegal by the international community.

The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, has spoken precisely about this region, warning that the Russian military campaign will continue until it reaches "at least" the internal boundaries of the Donetsk province, of which it controls around 60% of the territory. , and that of Lugansk, under Russian command practically in its entirety.

To do this, Moscow has launched a massive mobilization that has caused concern in some Western embassies.

The diplomatic representation of the United States has asked its citizens to leave Russia, especially those nationalized Russians,

"At a minimum it will be necessary to liberate the entire territory of the Donetsk People's Republic," Peskov said at his daily press conference on Wednesday.

On February 21, three days before launching his troops against Ukraine, Vladimir Putin recognized the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.

That recognition was based on the self-determination referendums organized by the separatists in May 2014, when not even the city of Donetsk was fully controlled by them and the first skirmishes with the Ukrainian troops had already taken place.

Eight years later, the Kremlin defends that that proclamation of independence covers the two provinces completely.

The referendums called by the Kremlin have concluded with data on support for the annexation that no body or independent source has been able to corroborate due to the context and the illegality of its holding: Donetsk (99.2%), Lugansk (98, 4%), Zaporizhia (93.1%) and Kherson (87%).

These consultations are irregular because they were held on the sovereign territory of Ukraine without its approval, being carried out in the midst of war surrounded by armed forces, without international observers outside the Kremlin, and without the participation of millions of people who have fled the fighting.

Despite this, the authorities imposed by the Kremlin have turned to Putin to formalize the annexation process.

"Donbas is part of Russia and for eight years we have been fighting for our dream: to return to our home port," read the letter from the head of the Lugansk republic, Leonid Pásechnik.

The president of that separatist territory, who came to power after an internal coup in 2017 against his predecessor, assured that only Russia has heard his alleged complaints against kyiv while "the civilized world, in quotes, was silent."

Both he and the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic, Denis Pushilin, traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to meet with the Duma president.

Volodin announced that the lower house will hold an extraordinary meeting on September 3, although he did not specify its content.

As the Tass agency advanced last week, the Duma is expected to formally process its urgent annexation once it receives the results of the illegal consultations.

One of the many concerns that the Ministry of Finance now has is how to absorb the new territories in its budgets.

“Hold on!

But there is serious work ahead,” Peskov said about public accounts that are already at the limit due to sanctions and economic isolation.

Washington Alert

To undertake this annexation after the Ukrainian counterattack, Putin decreed on September 21 a mobilization of hundreds of thousands of citizens that has caused a stampede on the Russian borders.

State Duma Chairman Viacheslav Volodin has issued a threat to those fleeing.

“We are making lists of all those who are leaving now.

Do you think they are going to leave and no one is going to see who is leaving and why they are leaving?” Volodin said without detailing what possible punishment those who leave the country will receive.

Among the thousands of people who fled, more than 260,000 as of Monday, according to the Meduza

newspaper

with border service sources, there are many foreigners who have dual nationality.

The US embassy in Moscow has recommended this Wednesday that they leave the country as soon as possible.

"Russia can refuse to recognize the dual nationality of US citizens and deny them access to consular assistance, prevent them from leaving Russia and recruit them for military service," the US Embassy said in a statement.

“Options to fly are extremely limited now, and often out of stock.

Car and bus routes are still open.

If you want to leave Russia, you should organize it independently as soon as possible," added the US notice, which acknowledges having "severe limitations" in evacuating its citizens.

Putin's mobilization has also caused fear among Europeans and Latin Americans with dual nationality.

"I'm leaving to be a little safe, lest I have no other option," a Spaniard told this newspaper who, after living in the country for almost a decade, decided to become a national to facilitate his stay.

"There is no other way than to do it now, it is the only logical option," added another well-known Spaniard, who regrets having to temporarily separate from his family to avoid any mishap and does not know if the embassy can help them.

“I am here as a Russian, the last time I entered the country I did so with that passport and I do not have any visa in Spanish.

I don't have the documents to go through the border if they close it”, he added.

The Kremlin does not clarify the future of the other two areas where fighting is also taking place and illegal plebiscites have been held, Zaporizhia and Kherson, although their Russian military authorities have also formally requested Putin to annex the country on Wednesday.

The plebiscites, organized in the middle of a war, have not been recognized either by the West or by Russia's partners such as China or Kazakhstan.

The only exceptions have been the Taliban government in Afghanistan and regimes such as those in Belarus, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-09-28

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