Pro-Russian referendums announced in breakaway Ukrainian regions; vote threatens to widen conflict

Pro-Russian factions in rebellious eastern Ukraine are preparing to hold referendums to join Russia, which western analysts say are illegal and will no doubt complicate — and widen — the war there.

Russia Today, which is a state-owned media outlet, reported that the Civic Chamber of the Lugansk People’s Republic announced a referendum to be held later this week, as Ukrainian forces aided by Western weapons make huge gains in a long-awaited counteroffensive.

“The residents of Donbass made their choice back in 2014 at the self-determination referendum of the Lugansk People’s Republic, and all these years we have been waiting and believing that the second one will definitely follow, which will fulfill our dream of returning home – to the Russian Federation,” Lina Vokalova, deputy head of the chamber, said.

Holding a vote now is vital as “the events of recent days have shown that the Kiev nationalists have crossed all the red lines,” she stressed.

“The Nazis mercilessly shell and stage terrorist acts against the civilian population of the Lugansk People’s Republic, seeking to scare us, and make us give up our dream and our ultimate goal – to join the Russian Federation,” Vokalova noted further.

If the regions agree to become part of Russia, which they are certain to do, then literally overnight Ukrainian forces will be occupying ‘Russian soil,’ giving President Vladimir Putin all the justification he needs to ramp up the war there dramatically.

“Russian proxy governments in occupied territories in Ukraine announced they will hold referendums to seek formal annexation by Russia,” notes an assessment of the situation by private intelligence firm Forward Observer.

“The international community has largely denounced the referendums as an illegal land grab violating Ukraine’s constitution and international law, with the EU promising to hold those involved accountable and implement additional restrictive measures. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinsky promised continued efforts to liberate the territories, calling the announced referendum an unacceptable ‘sham’ that proves Putin’s ‘fear of defeat,'” the report continued, stating that voting will commence later this week.

An analyst comment that accompanied the report laid out the dangers of holding the referendums:

Ukrainian focus are likely to use claims of a successful referendum to increase counterattacks and possibly launch a new assault on the sovereignty of the Russian Federation. Russia will also use this to characterize ongoing material support to Ukraine as an act of war in an attempt to stalemate NATO with the threat of a global conflict.

Meanwhile, Putin announced a “partial mobilization” of up to 300,000 more troops, while also warning that he is prepared to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, a threat he said the West should not take as a bluff.

In a prerecorded message, the Russian president charged that the West “wants to destroy our country,” adding that NATO countries had tried to “turn Ukraine’s people into cannon fodder,” according to CNBC, which added:

Putin said “mobilization events” would begin Wednesday without providing further details, aside from saying he had ordered an increase in funding to boost Russia’s weapons production, having committed (and lost) a large amount of weaponry during the conflict, which began in late February.

A partial mobilization is a hazy concept, but it could mean that Russian businesses and citizens have to contribute more to the war effort. Russia has not yet declared war on Ukraine, despite having invaded in February, and it calls its invasion a “special military operation.”

Putin confirmed that military reservists would be called up into active service, but insisted a wider conscription of Russian men of fighting age was not taking place.

“I reiterate, we are talking about partial mobilization, that is, only citizens who are currently in the reserve will be subject to conscription, and above all, those who served in the armed forces have a certain military specialty and relevant experience,” Putin said according to an Associated Press translation.

“Conscripts will obligatorily go through additional military training based on the experience of the special military operation before departing to the units,” he noted further.

The world is about to explode, and Western globalists couldn’t care less.

Sources include:

RT.com

CNBC.com