"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.
"The events of recent days have shown that the Kiev nationalists have crossed all the red lines. 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."
The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) must "immediately" hold a "referendum" on joining Russia, its civic chamber said on Monday. The call came shortly after a similar move was made by the equivalent body of the neighboring Lugansk People's Republic (LPR).Kiev threatens to use force against breakaway regions:
Addressing the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, the chamber said the time for "decisive actions" has come, urging him to hold the vote as soon as possible. Head of the chamber, Aleksander Kofman, said in a statement:"All of us feel and know for a long time that Donbass is Russia, we have been fighting for this for eight long years. For this, we daily suffer strikes on our homes, streets, hospitals, schools and kindergartens. We want the border of the Russian Federation to lie between us and Ukraine! We want to become again a part of one big Motherland - Russia. The people of Donbass deserve it!"A similar stance has been set out by the authorities in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, which is currently controlled by Russian forces. The head of the so-called military-civilian administration, Kirill Stremousov, said the region's residents:"want guarantees that we will become a part of the Russian Federation. Residents of Kherson Region call upon... and want to hold a referendum as soon as possible, because they are afraid that Russia might leave."
Senior officials in Kiev have dismissed as irrelevant plans for a number of current and former Ukrainian regions to hold referendums on whether to join Russia.Donetsk and Lugansk are of prime importance to Russia, hence the military pullback to support and further their choice. Kiev threats? The Bear will undoubtedly protect its own.
Andrey Yermak, President Vladimir Zelensky's chief of staff, described the proposed votes as "blackmail" by Moscow. "This is what fear of defeat looks like. The enemy is afraid and uses primitive manipulations," he said in a post on social media on Tuesday.
Yermak added that "Ukraine will solve the Russian question," insisting this could be done "only by force."
Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba also downplayed news of the upcoming referendums, dismissing the move as a sham. "Ukraine has every right to liberate its territories and will keep liberating them whatever Russia has to say," he tweeted.
Kiev previously threatened any person who takes part in such a plebiscite with criminal prosecution. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said participants could be sent to prison for up to 12 years.
On Tuesday, a petition to put the question to a plebiscite was sent to Vladimir Saldo, who leads the administration in the [Kherson] region, which has mostly been under Russian control for months. The call came from a public council, which is tasked with representing the local people.
Earlier, the deputy-head of the military-civilian administration, Kirill Stremousov, said the region's residents "want guarantees that we will become a part of the Russian Federation."
Many people in Kherson "are afraid that Russia might leave," Stremousov said.
The Kherson civic chamber, which initiated the vote, cited constant attacks by Ukrainian forces as one of the key reasons for the region seeking to formally cede from Kiev. It said being formally accepted as a part of Russia would boost its security.
"We are certain that the initiative would be fully supported by the people of Kherson Region, and its addition to Russia would not only restore historic justice, but also open a new path towards the revival and reconstruction of our land and the return to genuine peaceful life," said Vladimir Ovcharenko, the chair of the civic chamber.
A petition calling on the [Zaporozhye] region's military-civilian administration to hold such a vote was issued on Tuesday by a local group tasked with representing the general public. They asked the region's authorities "to immediately organize a referendum on the issue of joining our region to the Russian Federation."
"We want certainty and a stable happy future for our homeland," the civic body's head, Vladimir Rogov, said during a gathering in the city of Melitopol. "We are ready to fulfill our right for self-determination and settle once and for all the issue of the territorial status of our region."
Later in the day, Evgeny Balitsky, the head of the region's military-civilian administration, issued an order to hold a general vote as requested, scheduling it for September 23 to 27.
Rogov acknowledged that people in the Kiev-controlled part of the region were unlikely to participate under the current circumstances. Voters there would risk retaliation from the Ukrainian government if they did, he explained.
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