The Russians want to hold a fake referendum in Kherson

The Russians want to hold a referendum to create an independent republic in the city of Kherson, near the Crimea, where they seized control on March 3, several Ukrainian officials alleged on Saturday.

Also read: According to Ukraine’s Energotom Agency, Russian engineers inspect Ukraine’s Zaporozhye nuclear power plant

Also read: In the talks, Zhelensky suggested to Moscow a ‘fundamentally different approach’

Also read: Zhelensky says ‘about 1,300’ Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the start of the Russian invasion

“After the 2014 scenario, the Russians are desperately trying to hold a fake ‘referendum’ for a fake ‘People’s Republic’ in Kherson,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kouleba wrote on Twitter.

He was referring to a referendum held in Crimea in 2014 after the capture of the Russian peninsula, which Kyiv and Westerners considered illegal.

“Because there is no popular support, it will be fully demonstrated,” he predicted, calling for “serious sanctions” on Russia if that happened. “Kherson is in Ukraine and will always be.”

“Currently, the occupiers are calling on the representatives of the regional council to cooperate with them and create an ‘independent republic’,” Lyudmila Denisova, Ukrainian parliamentary representative for human rights, explained in a telegram.

Kherson was the first major city to be captured by Russian forces after the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.