A demonstration against occupying Russian forces in Kherson, Ukraine, on March 9, 2022. (Screenshot)
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials on Saturday accused Russia of planning a fake referendum on creating a pro-Moscow “people’s republic” in the southern Black Sea city of Kherson.
Russian forces seized the port city, which has a population of 290,000 people, on March 3 following a three-day siege. It was the first major city to fall following Moscow’s invasion.
“Russians now desperately try to organize a sham ‘referendum’ for a fake ‘people’s republic’ in Kherson,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted.
Due to “zero popular support,” such a referendum “will be fully staged,” he added.
“Severe sanctions against Russia must follow if they proceed. Kherson is & will always be Ukraine,” the minister added.
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Kuleba drew a parallel with Russia’s annexation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014, when it held a referendum on joining Russia after deploying troops there.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a parade marking the Victory Day in Sevastopol, Crimea, on May 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)
The Kherson plan was following a “2014 playbook,” Kuleba said.
Ukraine’s ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova wrote on Telegram that Russian occupying forces were phoning lawmakers from the local legislature, asking them to vote for the plan.
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Denisova said such a referendum would be illegal on the occupied territory, since under Ukrainian law any issues over territory can only be resolved by a nationwide referendum.
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