“We are one and the same people! » The slogan stretches out in red letters on the front page of the first issue of the Zaporozhye Vestnik, a new newspaper published on July 12 with the blessing of the Russian authorities in the occupied part of the Zaporijjia region. Below, a large portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and these few words: “Only the people who live in these territories will decide their future, and we will respect their choice, whatever it is. »
Made on June 17 by the Russian head of state about the pro-Russian separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, in eastern Ukraine, this comment has heightened fears that a “unity referendum” will come to sanction the annexation of these territories which have escaped the control of kyiv since 2014, but also of the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporijjia, partially occupied by Russia since the winter of 2022.
Efforts de « russification »
The occupying authorities of these oblast seem determined to reproduce the experience of Crimea, which, in March 2014, saw itself “reunited” with Russia after a vote overseen by Moscow and denounced by the international community. On July 14, the “governor” appointed by Moscow in the Zaporijjia region, for the first time, gave a timetable, announcing that he wanted to organize a referendum on annexation by Russia from the beginning of autumn.
The White House said Tuesday, July 19 that the Russian government would have «detailed plans to annex a number of regions in Ukraine including Kherson, Zaporizhia and all of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts». The United States also denounces the “Russification” efforts underway in the occupied territories, including the establishment of Russian banks to generalize the use of the rouble, the appointment of Russian civil servants and local collaborators to key positions, the distributing Russian passports, erasing the Ukrainian language, rerouting Internet traffic through Russia and its powerful digital surveillance system. Or even the setting in motion of school education, with the recruitment of many Russian teachers.
Uncertain schedule
Uncertainties remain, however, as to the realization of these annexations. If several Russian officials have mentioned them, the Kremlin does not openly accept them as the objectives of its “special military operation” for the moment. Moreover, even if this option seems less discussed lately, it remains possible that the establishment of “people’s republics” of Kherson and Zaporijjia, on the model of those of Donetsk and Luhansk, will be preferred, at least temporarily, to their pure annexation. and simple.
The calendar also raises questions. According to Washington, a vote could be held in September, at the same time as the Russian regional elections. It remains to be seen whether Moscow will not prefer to wait until it has taken full control of these regions within their administrative limits before proceeding with an annexation. However, while the Luhansk region fell in early July, fierce fighting is still taking place in the Kherson, Zaporijjia and Donetsk regions.