“The city of Kherson – that’s Russia,” said the deputy chief of the Moscow-appointed military and civil administration of Kherson, Kirill Stremousov, on Wednesday, according to the state news agency Ria Novosti.
No referendum, no people’s republic
There will be neither a people’s republic nor a referendum on accession in Cherson. Instead, his administration will directly ask Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to “transfer the Kherson region as a full-fledged subject to Russia.”
He justified the waiver of the referendum by saying that a referendum on the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, was not internationally recognized. According to Stremoussow, the integration should be completed by the end of the year. The pro-Russian administration of the region had previously announced that it would issue Russian passports to residents. The Russian ruble has been the official currency in Kherson since May 1st.
Moscow is reluctant
In the Kremlin, this initiative from the lower levels of functionaries was received with reservations. “There is no doubt that the residents of the Kherson region should decide whether or not to make such a request,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. In addition, such accession must also be legally secured. Crimea was declared part of Russia immediately after a referendum in 2014.
Sharp reaction in Kyiv
The political leadership in Kyiv reacted sharply to the advance. “The only letter that the ‘Gauleiter’ of the Cherson region can prepare is the request for pardon after the court verdict. The occupiers can ask to be connected to Mars or Jupiter,” said presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak. The Ukrainian army will liberate Kherson, he added.
Russia said in April that it had complete control of the Kherson region. It is strategically important because it represents a land connection between the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed in 2014, and the Russian-backed separatist areas in Donbass in eastern Ukraine.
Source: Nachrichten
