The separatist leaders of the two regions announced on Tuesday that a referendum on the annexation of Donbass and Luhansk to the Russian Federation would take place from Friday to September 27.
“The People’s Assembly has decided to fix polling days from September 23 to September 27.”Denis Miroshnichenko, a separatist official, was quoted as saying by the Lugansk news website.
This Monday, the separatist leader from Donetsk proposed to his adversary in Luhansk “to join forces between the heads of republics and parliaments and take steps and actions that would allow them to start preparations for the referendum.”
Denis Bushilin discussed with his Luhansk counterpart, Leonid Pashenik, the need to “synchronize” both advisory and security measures to prevent the advance of Ukrainian forces.
He therefore called for a referendum on integration with the Russian Federation to be held on the same day in both territories, as was the case in 2014 when a pro-Russian military insurgency erupted.
The Common Chambers, the consultative bodies of the two breakaway republics, addressed their leaders this Monday with a demand that the consultation be held “as a matter of urgency”.
“Today we receive requests from public chambers. This reflects the opinion of our people, something that has been breathing in the air for a long time”, Bushilin said.
The Donetsk Public Chamber’s demand calls for the destruction of the “absent border” with Russia once and for all.
“We want to find the border of the Russian Federation between us and Ukraine,” said Mayor Alexander Kokman.
In the same vein, the Luhansk General Chamber called for “the immediate holding of a referendum on the recognition of the Luhansk People’s Republic as a dependent state of the Russian Federation.”
“We believe that this initiative will have the full support of Luhansk residents and that the entry into the Russian Federation will not only create a victory for historical justice, but also guarantee the security of the republic,” the petition said.
However, the poll was scheduled to be held between September 23 and 27.
Ukrainian officials in Luhansk say their forces have captured the town of Bilohoryvka on the border between Luhansk and Donetsk.
According to British intelligence, if Russia loses significant territory in the Luhansk region it controls by early July, it will undermine the Kremlin’s strategy in Ukraine.
With Russia’s withdrawal from the Kharkov region on September 8, Ukrainian troops advanced into the Donbass, crossing the strategic Oskil River.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ruled out a shift in strategy in eastern Ukraine, with the Kremlin also denying a general mobilization for lack of footholds on the war front following criticism from some politicians and regional leaders.
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