They distributed Russian passports, mobile numbers and decoders to watch Russian television. They replaced the Ukrainian currency with the ruble, redirected the internet through Russian servers, and arrested hundreds of people who resisted assimilation.
In bigger and smaller ways, the authorities occupying territory in Ukraine conquered by Moscow’s forces are using fear and indoctrination to compel Ukrainians to adopt a Russian way of life. “We are one people”, say billboards in blue, white and red, colors of the Russian flag. “We are with Russia.”
Now comes the next act of President Vladimir Putin’s 21st century version of the war of conquest: the grassroots “referendum”.
Russian-appointed administrators in cities like Kherson in southern Ukraine are laying the groundwork for a September vote that the Kremlin will present as a popular desire to become part of Russia. They are recruiting pro-Russian residents to new “election commissions” and promoting to Ukrainian civilians the supposed benefits of joining their country.
Any referendum would be entirely illegitimate, say Ukrainian and Western officials, but would have ominous consequences. Analysts in Russia and Ukraine believe it will serve as a prelude to Putin officially declaring the conquered area Russian territory, protected by Russian nuclear weapons — potentially making Ukraine’s future attempts to drive Russian forces much more expensive.
Kherson is one of four regions where officials are signaling referendum plans, along with Zaporizhzhia in the south and Luhansk and Donetsk in the east. While the Kremlin says it will be up to residents of the area to “determine their own future”, Putin hinted last month that he intends to annex the regions immediately.
As a result, an effort to mobilize residents of Russian-occupied territories for a referendum is increasingly visible in the field.
Russian-appointed officials in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, for example, announced last week that they were forming “electoral commissions” to prepare for referendums, which an official said could take place on 9/11 – the scheduled day for holding elections. local and regional elections across Russia.
“Russia is starting to release a version of what could be called an annexation manual,” John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, said this month. “Annexation by force will be a gross violation of the UN Charter, and we will not allow it to go unchallenged or unpunished.”
