New authorities of Zaporozhye and Kherson regions are ready to declare their accession to Russia on November 4

Accession to Russia of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) can be carried out without holding referendums, the head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov wrote about this in his Telegram channel. According to him, this is a logical decision, given that the results of the Crimean referendum in 2014 “few recognized.” “Recognition or non-recognition by certain states does not depend on how these territories will be annexed,” Aksyonov noted.

Before that, the head of the republic, commenting on the holding of referendums in other territories where a military operation was carried out (the proposed geography of the plebiscite was not specified), said: “The sooner they are held, the better.” He stressed that Crimea is ready to provide any assistance in this matter – moral, material and methodological. “The main thing is our experience in terms of the transition period, adaptation to Russian legislation, to life in our big country,” he said. Features of life in the Crimea and Sevastopol, which until 2014 were part of Ukraine, are spelled out in a special law.

On the evening of September 7, Secretary of the United Russia General Council and First Vice Speaker of the Federation Council Andrey Turchak said that the referenda “will definitely take place, and this year already.” He clarified that the most correct decision would be to hold them on November 4 – the Day of National Unity. He did not specify which territories should be affected by the referendum.

On the same day, the sociological center INSOMAR published the results of a survey in two regions of Ukraine: Zaporozhye and Kherson (1,000 people participated). Sociologists asked the respondents a question: “Personally, would you like the territory of your region to remain part of Ukraine, become part of Russia, or become an independent state after the completion of the military operation?”

In the Zaporozhye region, according to these sociologists, 71% of the respondents expressed their desire to become part of Russia, 6% – to remain part of Ukraine, the same number – to become an independent state, 17% found it difficult to answer. In the Kherson region, respectively, 63% want to go to Russia, 11% would prefer to remain part of Ukraine, 7% would like to exist independently, 19% find it difficult to answer.

According to Vedomosti’s interlocutor close to Staraya Square, Turchak announced the date that everyone involved in the preparation of referendums is guided by. Assessing the words of Aksenov, it is important to understand that no one is going to abandon the very idea of ​​annexing the territories, he notes.

Not only Aksyonov reacted to Turchak’s statement. In the Kherson region and in Zaporozhye, they supported the idea of ​​holding a referendum on November 4. The deputy head of the pro-Russian military-civilian administration (VGA) of the Kherson region, Kirill Stremousov, commenting on the words of Turchak, said that he completely agrees with him.

“We will prepare for [обозначенной Турчаком] date. Everyone thought that the referendum would take place in September (Vedomosti previously wrote that such a scenario was not implemented), but they did not name a specific date,” Stremousov said. A similar opinion was expressed to Izvestiya by the head of the pro-Russian Supreme State Administration of the Zaporozhye region, Yevgeny Balitsky, noting that the sooner the referendum is held, the better.

The head of the DPR, already recognized by the Russian Federation, Denis Pushilin, commenting on the possibility of holding a vote on November 4, said that it would be mandatory, but now “a liberation operation is underway, it’s a matter of time.” “This is a desire [войти в состав РФ] It’s only gotten better over the years, it’s just a matter of time. And it is getting closer with every meter,” the head of the DPR added.

Deputy Chairman of the CEC Nikolai Bulaev stressed that the agency is ready to help local election commissions in conducting voting. “The referendum will be announced, there will be order, there will be laws or a decree of local authorities, which will determine where they open polling stations, how many they open, this is not the authority of the CEC,” he said.

Earlier, the interlocutor of Vedomosti, close to the administration of one of the regions of the Central Federal District, said that in the event of a referendum in the territories where a military operation was carried out, the corresponding plebiscite sites, at the initiative of their authorities, could be opened in the Russian Federation. In this case, citizens of Ukraine who have moved to the country with temporary or permanent registration in the Russian Federation will be able to vote in the referendum, he explained. This will explain the interest in the event from local residents, the source said.

A Vedomosti source close to Staraya Ploshchad does not rule out that the voting will take several days.

“November 4 is a favorable date to show unity,” notes political analyst Alexander Nemtsev. “At the same time, in conditions of active hostilities, diverting a power resource can be a difficult task.” At the same time, Aksenov’s opinion can be assessed in the framework of a discussion about supporting the annexation of territories to the Russian Federation, he believes.