The vote in the referendum in Ukraine aimed at annexing territories to Russia entered its fourth day today (Monday), after the United States warned of “catastrophic consequences” if Moscow uses nuclear weapons to defend annexed areas.
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In votes in four regions in the country’s east, Russian-backed officials carried ballot boxes door-to-door accompanied by security officials, the Luhansk regional governor claimed. According to him, the names of the residents were removed if they did not vote correctly or refused to vote.
Kirill Stramosov, one of the leaders of the government imposed by Russia in the Kherson region, claimed that he expected the city to become part of the Russian Federation soon. “In my personal opinion, this will happen in the near future – because the sooner we become part of Russia, the sooner we can establish a peaceful life,” he said.
Russian forces control an area representing about 15% of Ukraine, roughly the size of Portugal. This, in addition to the Crimean peninsula that Russia claims to have annexed in 2014. By incorporating the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions into Russia, Moscow will be able to present efforts to retake them as attacks on Russia itself, a warning to Kiev and its Western allies.
At the same time, the British intelligence informed that as part of the recruitment in Russia, the first troops began to arrive at military bases. And noted that Russia will now face an administrative and logistical challenge to provide training for soldiers.
It is also claimed that unlike most Western armies, the Russian army provides low-level initial training for soldiers within the framework of their designated operational units, and not in dedicated training facilities. Therefore, many of the enlisted soldiers will not have any military experience for several years.
According to British intelligence, the lack of military trainers, and the haste with which Russia began recruitment, indicate that many of the recruited soldiers will be deployed to the front line with minimal relevant preparation, and they are expected to suffer a high attrition rate.