The Kremlin may be seeking to stage a “referendum” in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson in an effort to legitimize the Ukrainian city as a “breakaway republic,” the British Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday.
The move would be reminiscent of 2014 referendums that took place in the Donbas region, in which Russian-backed separatists sought to legitimize Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea as independent republics.
“Reporting suggests that Russia may seek to stage a ‘referendum’ in Kherson in an attempt to legitimise the area as a ‘breakaway republic,'” the British Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update on Tuesday.
“Russia is likely to make further attempts to subvert Ukrainian democracy as it attempts to consolidate political control of Ukraine,” the update continued, highlighting other Russian attempts to gain political control in captured Ukrainian cities.
‘HUGE’ EXPLOSIONS ROCK DOWNTOWN KYIV
“Russia has reportedly installed its own mayor in Melitopol following the alleged abduction of his predecessor on Friday 11 March. Subsequently, the Mayor of Dniprorudne has also reportedly been abducted by Russian forces,” the United Kingdom’s Defense Ministry added.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 15 March 2022
Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/aNa33WPBRi
?? #StandWithUkraine ?? pic.twitter.com/lrw4wxDvxL
— Ministry of Defence ?? (@DefenceHQ) March 15, 2022
The report comes after a weekend of protests in Kherson and other Russian-occupied cities in southern Ukraine.
Hundreds of people in Ukraine took the streets on Sunday to protest the war and the Russian occupation of their cities. Videos shared on social media showed demonstrators marching in Kherson, Nova Kakhovka, and Melitopol, reportedly shouting at the Russian soldiers to “go home.”
The protesters in Kherson reportedly marched toward the city council building now under Russian control, coming within 550 yards of Russian troops.
Look at these videos from today’s protests in Kherson /1 pic.twitter.com/Z2xrCkdUfV
— Mattia Nelles (@mattia_n) March 13, 2022
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Russian forces took control of Kherson, which had a prewar population of 289,000, on March 2. The smaller cities of Melitopol and Nova Kakhovka were captured shortly after the start of the war last month.
In May 2014, 89% of voters in Donetsk and 96% of voters in Luhansk voted in favor of self-rule. The results of the referendum could not be independently verified and were not recognized by Kyiv or the West. On Feb. 21, days before its invasion, Russia recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics.
