Chris Lange, FISM News
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Russia’s annexation of four territories in Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions is expected to be ratified by the nation’s parliament on October 4.
The Russian-installed administrations of each of the four provinces have formally asked Putin to incorporate them into Russia, which Russian officials have suggested is a mere formality.
“This should happen within a week,” Rodion Miroshnik, the Russia-installed ambassador to Moscow of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, said of the expected annexations.
“The main thing has already happened – the referendum has taken place. Therefore, let’s say: the locomotive has already started and it’s unlikely to be stopped.”
Residents who escaped the regions say people were forced to vote at gunpoint.
“They can announce anything they want. Nobody voted in the referendum except a few people who switched sides. They went from house to house but nobody came out,” said Lyubomir Boyko, 43, from Golo Pristan, a village in Russian-occupied Kherson province, according to the Associated Press.
Russia maintains that voting was voluntary and in line with international law, a claim rejected by the U.S. and other Western leaders.
Russia’s pro-Putin parliament will undoubtedly approve the annexations of roughly 15% of Ukraine. Annexation would bring the territories under Russia’s nuclear umbrella, lending credence to Putin’s recent assertion that he was “not bluffing” in his threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Washington responded to the referendums with the announcement of unspecified new sanctions on Russia while the Department of Defense separately unveiled a new $1.1 billion weapons package for Ukraine.
The latest Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package includes 18 additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and corresponding ammunition. Unlike the 16 HIMARS Washington sent to Ukraine that were pulled from U.S. military inventory, the additional HIMARS will be purchased for Ukraine directly from the manufacturer, according to a Defense Department press release.
A Pentagon spokesperson said the latest package “is only the beginning of a procurement process” that could take years to complete. However, the U.S. can still provide weapons to Ukraine from its military inventory.
“If we don’t invest today to procure HIMARS for the future, they won’t be there when the Ukrainian armed forces need them down the road,” the official said. “This is a really sizable investment and it’s intended so that down the road, Ukraine will have what it needs for the long-haul to deter future threats. It in no way rules out us continuing to invest in their current force with capabilities that are available today, and that we can draw down today from U.S. stocks.”
Separately, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday that the territories Moscow seeks to annex belong to Ukraine, which “has every right to continue to fight for their full sovereignty.”
“In response, we will work with our allies and partners to impose additional economic costs” on Russia and supporters of any annexation, she said at a press briefing. She further denounced Moscow’s referendums as “illegitimate and, frankly, outrageous.”
“We expect Russia to use these sham referenda as a false pretext to try to annex Ukrainian territory in flagrant violation of international law and the United Nations Charter,” she added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spent much of his time on Wednesday making phone calls to foreign leaders to shore up support against Russia’s latest power grab.
“Thank you all for your clear and unequivocal support. Thank you all for understanding our position,” he said during a late-night video address.