The authorities appointed by Moscow in the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhya, partly occupied by the Russian army, announced on Monday that they were officially launching preparations for the referendum on the annexation of this region to Russia.
“I signed an order for the Central Election Commission to start working on the organization of a referendum on the annexation of the Zaporizhia region to Russia,” said Yevgeny Balitsky, head of the civil and military administration. set up in the territories of this southern region controlled by the Russians.
He made the remarks at a forum of a local pro-Russian movement called “We are together with Russia” in Melitopol, according to a video posted on Mr. Balitsky’s official Telegram account.
The announcement received a standing ovation from more than 700 forum participants.
In mid-July, Mr. Balitski announced that he wanted to organize such a referendum at the start of the fall.
The launch of official preparations for the referendum comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that peace talks with Russia will be impossible if such referendums are held in Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine.
“It is not us who are organizing the referendum, it is the inhabitants of these regions who have such projects,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied on Monday.
“He (Zelensky, Ed) must ask his citizens why many of them do not want to live in his country,” he said.
From the beginning of the offensive on February 24 against Ukraine, the Russian army conquered a large part of two southern regions, those of Kherson and Zaporijjia.
Since then, the authorities controlled by Moscow say they want to organize their attachment to Russia, even if officially the Kremlin has not publicly displayed this objective.
The occupation authorities also lead a policy of intense Russification, introducing the rouble, taking control of social welfare systems, businesses, schools, and pushing residents to take Russian passports.