(Moscow) The separatist territory of Luhansk, whose independence Moscow has recognized, could soon hold a referendum to join Russia, said Sunday the leader of this territory, Leonid Passechnik.
Posted at 9:49
“I think that in the near future a referendum will be held on the territory of the republic [autoproclamée de Louhansk, NDLR]during which the people will exercise their absolute constitutional right and express their opinion on joining the Russian Federation,” he said, as quoted by Russian agencies.
“I don’t know why, I’m sure it will,” he added, without giving details of a possible date.
“All fake referendums in the temporarily occupied territories are null and void and will have no legitimacy,” Oleg Nikolenko, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, reacted on Twitter.
“No country in the world will recognize the coerced modification of Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders,” he added. “On the contrary, Russia will face an even tougher response from the international community, which will further intensify its isolation on the world stage.”
The pro-Russian separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose independence Moscow has recognized, are located in the Russian-speaking Donbass mining basin (eastern Ukraine) and have escaped Kyiv’s control since 2014.
The war which has pitted the separatists against the Kyiv authorities since then has left more than 14,000 dead.
Their independence, proclaimed after referendums, is not recognized by the international community.
On February 21, in a highly choreographed sequence, President Vladimir Putin recognized their independence and responded to their demand for “defense cooperation”.
This was a prelude to the entry, on February 24, of Russian troops into Ukraine, on the grounds, according to the Kremlin, of defending these separatist territories.
“I don’t think it’s the right time […] I don’t think it’s appropriate, because until recently the republics were part of Ukraine, ”reacted Leonid Kalashnikov, member of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, on Sunday.
Moreover “at the moment there are not many inhabitants in the republics”, a large number of the latter having been evacuated to Russia, he added, quoted by the Russian agency Interfax.
Another Russian parliamentarian, Senator Andrei Klichass, for his part indicated that the authorities of these republics had “the right to take all decisions in accordance with their constitutions”.