Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver a speech on the subject of war, a few hours after the announcement by the separatist leaders of the Moscow-controlled regions that they will proceed to a referendum on their integration into Russia. As it became known, after the Russian president, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu will take the floor.
Referendums in the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic” will be held from September 23 to 27.
The dates of the referendums were announced by the head of the self-proclaimed “parliament” of the Lugansk region, Denis Mirasisnichenko.
The shift of Russian borders
The four regions where the referendums will be held are Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhia. If the result is in favor of annexation to Russia, this will allow Moscow to make its borders “irreversible” and use any means to defend them.
Analysts note that an annexation move a la Crimea would mean an escalation of Russian aggression that would now consider the territories of eastern Ukraine Russian, and therefore any counterattack as an attack on Russian soil. Besides, the time when the referendums were announced coincides with Kiev’s successes on the battlefield and the recapture of territories.
Mobilization
For some time now, there have been calls for Putin to make the move that can change the situation and give Russia the upper hand again: To officially declare war on Ukraine, instead of the “special military operation” .
This, in turn, will have an immediate consequence: It will allow him, if he so chooses, to proceed with (general or partial) conscription, decisively reinforcing his weakened troops at the front.
For its part, Ukraine says that any referendums on the accession of these territories to Russia destroy any hope for talks between Kiev and Moscow. “Without referendums, there is still a slim chance of a diplomatic solution. After the referendums – no,” said Serhiy Nykyforov.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmitry Kuleba, was asked at the UN meeting whether he will meet Sergey Lavrov and answered in the negative
