Ukraine promised on Tuesday to “liquidate” the Russian “threat” before the announcement of the organization of referendums for the annexation by Moscow of the separatist regions of Donetsk and Lugansk and the Russian-occupied region of Kherson.
“Ukraine will solve the Russian question. The threat can only be liquidated by force,” the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram.
He denounced the announcement of the referendums as “blackmail” by Moscow, motivated by “fear of defeat”, while Ukrainian forces have recaptured thousands of square kilometers from Russian troops since early September.
The Crimean precedent in 2014
The Donetsk and Lugansk regions, in the east of the country, have been under the control of pro-Russian separatists since 2014. The Kherson region, in the south, has been occupied by the Russian army since the beginning of its invasion launched on February 24. The integration of these regions into Russia would represent a major escalation in the Ukraine conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of self-proclaimed breakaway “republics” in Donetsk and Lugansk shortly before launching the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia already annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea (south) in 2014, an attachment ratified by a referendum that had been preceded by a military intervention and that is denounced as illegal by Kyiv and the West.
Source: BFM TV
