For weeks, the pro-Russian authorities in the occupied Cherson region have been preparing a referendum on belonging to Russia. But the Ukrainian offensive in the south of the country canceled out the occupiers’ plans.
The pro-Russian authorities in the occupied and currently fiercely contested southern Ukrainian region of Cherson say they want to halt their plans for a referendum on membership of Russia for the time being. The background is the security situation, said the head of the pro-Russian authorities, Kirill Stremousow, on Russian state television. Preparations for voting have already begun. “But given the current developments, I believe that we will take a break for the moment.”
After weeks of bombardment by Ukrainian troops, it was no longer possible to drive across the important Antonivsky Bridge by car, Stremousov said. Earlier, Ukraine had reported progress in its counter-offensive in the region. According to the Southern Command, the Ukrainian soldiers recaptured several areas and destroyed, among other things, an ammunition depot, a pontoon bridge and a Russian army control center.
A date for the referendum in Kherson has not yet been set. At the end of June, Stremousov announced that preparations had begun. The vote is planned for the coming half year.
On Saturday, Kyiv warned residents of the region against taking part in the vote planned by the Russians. The Ukrainians could face up to twelve years in prison for taking part in the “referendum,” announced the country’s Deputy Prime Minister, Iryna Wereshchuk.
However, Stremouzov now claimed that the threats from Kyiv would not affect the conduct of the referendum. “Iryna Vereshchuk, you have nothing to do with the Kherson region. This is a liberated area, and everything you do there, your threats – it’s all just a meaningless cry,” the collaborator said on Russian television.
The Cherson region, with its capital of the same name on the banks of the Dnipro, borders on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. Cherson was the first major city in Ukraine to be taken by the Russian army in early March, shortly after the start of the Russian offensive. The region is of central importance for agriculture and is also strategically important due to its proximity to Crimea.
