The Russians want to organize a mock referendum in Kherson

The Russians want a referendum to create an independent republic in Kherson, a city near Crimea, which they seized on March 3, several Ukrainian officials accused on Saturday.

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“After the 2014 scenario, the Russians are desperately trying to organize a fake ‘referendum’ for a fictitious ‘People’s Republic’ in Kherson,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

He was referring to the referendum organized in Crimea in 2014 after the annexation of the peninsula by Russia, which Kyiv and the Westerners deemed illegal.

He predicted that “given the fact that there is no popular support, it will be done completely,” calling for “severe sanctions” to be imposed on Russia if this were the case. “Kherson is and always will be in Ukraine.”

“Currently, the invaders are calling on the deputies of the Regional Council to offer cooperation and create an “independent republic”, as detailed on Telegram, the Ukrainian Parliamentary Representative for Human Rights, Lyudmila Denisova.

Kherson is the first major city occupied by Russian forces after their invasion of Ukraine on February 24.