After Russia captured areas in Southern Ukraine in its “special military operation”, it made many systematic changes to show off it’s control. These include handing out Russian passports, Russian cellphone numbers and set-top boxes for watching Russian television to Ukrainian citizens.
The Russian government has also replaced Ukrainian currency with the ruble, the Russian dollar, and rerouted the internet through Russian servers. Even the ads indoctrinate Ukrainian people. “We are one people,” blue-white-and-red billboards say. “We are with Russia.”
Now, the Russian government is looking to make their control over Southern Ukraine a little more permanent. Russia-appointed government officials in Russian-occupied Ukraine are planning to vote as early as September on a referendum that states that Ukraine wants to be a part of Russia.
However, it won’t be a fair vote. They are recruiting pro-Russia locals for new “election commissions” and trying to convince Ukrainian citizens to vote for this bill through propaganda. Even after this, many experts guess that Russia will doctor the results into something that looks more presentable.
The result of the referendum will probably be yes, that Ukraine wants to join Russia. However, Ukrainian and Western officials both say that this result will almost certainly be both doctored by the Russian government. However, both Russian and Ukrainian political analysts say that this referendum will most likely lead to a declaration that Southern Ukraine is officially under Russian jurisdiction, which means attempts to retake Ukraine might be met with deadlier Russian weapons, like nuclear bombs.
The annexation of Southern Ukraine is not the first time Russia has attempted something like this. Vladimir Konstantinov, a pro-Russian Crimean politician, organized the similar Crimean referendum eight years ago, where 97% of Crimeans apparently voted in favor of joining Russia.
Now, Russia has jurisdiction over Crimea, a European peninsula that was also part of Ukraine. “Carrying out a referendum is not hard at all,” says Konstantinov, the speaker of the Russian-imposed Crimean Parliament. “They will ask: ‘Take us under your guardianship, under your development, under your security.’”
As planning for the referendum continues, the Russians are doing everything they can to convince the native Ukrainians to vote “yes”. Many ads supporting the Russian regime are being run in a variety of media in regions Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk, the four regions that a slated to have a referendum vote.
A pro-Russian newspaper in the Zaporizhzhia region titled on of its papers last week with the headline: “The referendum will be!” On a weekly news show on Russian state television last Sunday, a report stated that “everything is being done to ensure that Kherson returns to its historical homeland as soon as possible.”
Source:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/30/world/europe/russia-occupation-ukraine-kherson.html
The Russian government has also replaced Ukrainian currency with the ruble, the Russian dollar, and rerouted the internet through Russian servers. Even the ads indoctrinate Ukrainian people. “We are one people,” blue-white-and-red billboards say. “We are with Russia.”
Now, the Russian government is looking to make their control over Southern Ukraine a little more permanent. Russia-appointed government officials in Russian-occupied Ukraine are planning to vote as early as September on a referendum that states that Ukraine wants to be a part of Russia.
However, it won’t be a fair vote. They are recruiting pro-Russia locals for new “election commissions” and trying to convince Ukrainian citizens to vote for this bill through propaganda. Even after this, many experts guess that Russia will doctor the results into something that looks more presentable.
The result of the referendum will probably be yes, that Ukraine wants to join Russia. However, Ukrainian and Western officials both say that this result will almost certainly be both doctored by the Russian government. However, both Russian and Ukrainian political analysts say that this referendum will most likely lead to a declaration that Southern Ukraine is officially under Russian jurisdiction, which means attempts to retake Ukraine might be met with deadlier Russian weapons, like nuclear bombs.
The annexation of Southern Ukraine is not the first time Russia has attempted something like this. Vladimir Konstantinov, a pro-Russian Crimean politician, organized the similar Crimean referendum eight years ago, where 97% of Crimeans apparently voted in favor of joining Russia.
Now, Russia has jurisdiction over Crimea, a European peninsula that was also part of Ukraine. “Carrying out a referendum is not hard at all,” says Konstantinov, the speaker of the Russian-imposed Crimean Parliament. “They will ask: ‘Take us under your guardianship, under your development, under your security.’”
As planning for the referendum continues, the Russians are doing everything they can to convince the native Ukrainians to vote “yes”. Many ads supporting the Russian regime are being run in a variety of media in regions Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk, the four regions that a slated to have a referendum vote.
A pro-Russian newspaper in the Zaporizhzhia region titled on of its papers last week with the headline: “The referendum will be!” On a weekly news show on Russian state television last Sunday, a report stated that “everything is being done to ensure that Kherson returns to its historical homeland as soon as possible.”
Source:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/30/world/europe/russia-occupation-ukraine-kherson.html
