The region’s occupation authorities say they will appeal to the President of Russia with a request to include the region in the Russian Federation.
Coverage of the Kherson region continues for the third month. The occupiers tried to appoint their own authorities, which are now making strong statements. For example, a man described by Russian state media as the deputy head of the military-civilian administration of the Kherson region said on Wednesday that the occupying authorities would ask the Russian president to include the region in Russia. Earlier there were fears that Russia would initiate a “referendum” to create another “people’s republic” – Kherson (KhNR).
Collaborators
On April 27, the Russians reported that new administrations had been formed in the Kherson region, including the regional. It is led by 65-year-old Volodymyr Saldo, who served as mayor of Kherson for three consecutive terms from 2002-2012 and a People’s Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine from the Party of Regions. From the beginning of the war, he supported the Russian occupation of Kherson.
Kirill Stremousov, a local resident, declared himself Deputy Balance, appearing to be the head of the Kherson Rescue Committee For Peace and Order. It was a local activist, one of the leaders of the Ukrainian movement against vaccination against coronavirus, who allegedly in 2019 participated in the attack on the editorial office of a Kherson newspaper using tear gas and traumatic weapons.
The Ukrainian administration under the leadership of Mayor Igor Kolykhaev continues to work in Kherson for a long time. According to him, on the night of April 25, armed men entered the building and evicted everyone there, took the keys and placed armed guards.
On April 28, Stremousov announced that the Kherson region from May 1 had allegedly moved into the ruble zone.
On Wednesday, May 11, an activist actively quoted by Russian media took the next step – he announced an appeal to Russia with a request to include the Kherson region.
“The city of Kherson is Russia, there will be no KhNR on the territory of the Kherson region, there will be no referendum. It will be a single mandate based on the appeal of the Kherson region leadership to the President of the Russian Federation, and there will be a request to include the region in an absolute region of the Russian Federation, ” – he was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.
Ukraine’s response
Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President, said that the accomplices of the occupiers in the Kherson region could call for joining them at least on Mars, but in fact they would have to apologize after the verdict. of the court.
“The only appeal that the Gauleiters of the Kherson region can prepare is a petition for pardon after the court verdict. The occupiers can request to join them even on Mars, even on Jupiter,” the adviser said. head of the OP.
Podolyak expressed confidence that the Ukrainian army would liberate Kherson, no matter what “wordplay” the occupiers had formed.
The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office announced Saldo and Stremousov on suspicion of committing high treason.
Russia’s reaction
“To be an appeal or not, the residents of the Kherson region must still decide,” this issue must be assessed by lawyers and legal experts, Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, commented. in the words of Stremousov: “Such fatal decisions must have a perfectly clear legal background, justification, to be completely legitimate, as happened in the Crimea.”
The balance, announced by the head of the occupational military-civilian administration of the Kherson region, said in an interview with TASS the day before that there were no plans to join the region in Crimea, which was merged in 2014. “Perhaps, this is my opinion , a kind of federal district will be created, which will include the regions of Crimea, Kherson, Zaporozhye, but the region will remain a region, ”he reasoned.
Source: korrespondent
