(Moscow) Train and bus lines, civil status service, pensions, schools and banks: the occupation administrations of southern Ukraine multiplied announcements on Wednesday relating to the integration of these regions into Russia.
Posted at 10:35 a.m.
The self-proclaimed “Ministry” of the Interior of the Kherson region, occupied since March by Russian troops, indicated that buses would connect the cities of Kherson and Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
Buses will also connect from 1er July Simferopol to the conquered cities of Melitopol and Berdiansk, in the Ukrainian region of Zaporijjia, partially occupied by the Russian army.
And a railway line will operate between the Crimean city of Jankoy and those of Kherson and Melitopol.
“Transport security will be provided by Rosgvardia,” the Russian National Guard, the self-proclaimed ministry said in a statement.
On Telegram, the occupation administration of the Kherson region announced the opening on Wednesday of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, responsible for paying pensions.
PHOTO ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
The self-proclaimed “Ministry” of the Interior of the Kherson region, occupied since March by Russian troops, said buses would connect the cities of Kherson and Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, on Friday.
According to the occupation administration, a first Russian bank opened in Kherson on Wednesday. It is an agency of Promsvyazbank, a private bank known to finance the defense sector and which is under Western sanctions.
A civil status service obeying “Russian standards” has also opened its doors in Kherson to register births, deaths and celebrate marriages, according to the same source.
“The services are not only aimed at Russian nationals, but also at all those who have not yet had time to apply for Russian citizenship,” said the administration, which since June 11 has been issuing passports Russians.
In Melitopol, Russia’s Federal Education Supervision Service began delivering school leaving certificates to high school students on Wednesday, according to the occupation administration, quoted by the Ria Novosti agency.
Since the capture of these territories in southern Ukraine, Moscow has been pursuing a policy of Russification: the ruble has been introduced, Russian passports issued, critical voices are repressed and economic activity is largely under the control of the occupation administrations. .
Vladimir Poutin had affirmed while launching his offensive against Ukraine that his country would not occupy Ukraine.
Since then, the Kremlin has limited itself to saying that the inhabitants will choose their future, thus implying that it is in favor of a referendum to organize an annexation, as was the case in Crimea.
The deputy head of the Kherson occupation administration, Kirill Stremoussov, reiterated on Telegram on Wednesday that such a vote was in preparation, without giving a timetable.
But at the same time, several attacks have targeted in the region in recent weeks representatives acquired in the Kremlin. On June 24, a pro-Russian official was killed in Kherson in the explosion of his car, an act described as “terrorist” by Moscow.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have returned to the offensive in the Kherson region and regained ground from the Russians.