“The decision is pending,” said the deputy chief of the President’s Office, according to the Tass agency. President Vladimir Putin has always said that the decision lies with the people of the region and that Russia will respect their choice.
The Russian and Ukrainian media have repeatedly speculated about referendums in the occupied territories in September. Foreign experts see the Kremlin under time pressure. The Donetsk People’s Republic is supposed to be integrated into the borders in which Russia recognized it as an independent state. However, a large part of the area is still defended by Ukrainian troops. Should the Ukraine start a counter-offensive in Cherson, there is a risk that areas conquered there will be lost again.
Russian online portal Medusa, which operates out of Latvia, reported, citing sources in the Kremlin, that support for joining was much lower. In the polls in the occupied territories, about 30 percent voted for Russia and just as many against. The rest did not provide any information.