Observers believe that Moscow, despite the Ukrainian military escalation against it, is continuing to translate the results of the referendums, and to make those areas in which they took place an integral part of the Russian territory, which will lead, according to them, to prolonging and complicating the Russian-Ukrainian conflict more, in light of Kyiv’s refusal to recognize the results of those referendums and the consequences It has taken steps, and considers those areas “occupied” by the Russians and must be restored, similar to what is happening in Kherson Province from the Ukrainian mobilization and attacks.
What is happening in Kherson?
Maher Al-Hamdani, a researcher and expert in European and international affairs, told Sky News Arabia: “It is absolutely clear that the ongoing escalation in Kherson by Kyiv will give an indication of the extent of Moscow’s seriousness in annexing it and with it the other three regions, if we do not witness a decisive Russian response to the Ukrainian incursion into it. This means that Russia may be in the process of reversing the annexation step, and vice versa.
Al-Hamdani added: “Kherson was, as is well known, one of the first strategic cities that fell into the hands of the Russians, only about 3 weeks after the start of the war, and this is why the Ukrainian side may be ferocious in recovering it, especially since it voted through a referendum in favor of joining Russia.”
“But the evacuation of the civilian population from Kherson, which Russian President Putin stressed on Friday, to implement quickly, may indicate that Moscow is about to engage in a fierce battle with the Ukrainian forces there,” he added.
In turn, a professor at the Moscow Higher School of Economics, Rami Al-Qalyubi, told Sky News Arabia: “In fact, the process of merging these four regions into Russia began even before the annexation referendums were organized at the end of last September. Russian cars, and so when it was officially announced its accession, it seemed like a foregone conclusion and it did not change much on the ground, but it undoubtedly gave an official character to the process of annexing those regions to the Russian Federation.
The expert on the Russian affairs adds: “These regions have become constitutionally depleted within Russia, which means that they are the same as all regions and regions of the country and are treated exactly the same, so that they have all the rights to defense, protection, subsidies, pensions, and so on. For example, in Kherson Province, which is on the verge of a battle Between the Russian and Ukrainian armies, a sum of 100,000 Russian rubles, which is equivalent to about 1,700 US dollars, is given as compensation for the evacuation of one of its residents and other aspects of support provided by Moscow to these regions and their residents.
Where did the annexation procedures go?
In the latest Russian measures to complete the process of annexation of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye, the inauguration ceremony of the flags of these four new regions within the Russian Federation was held in the Flag Hall of the Russian Federation (Senate), which is the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament, where the official symbols of those regions were installed It held accession referendums for Russia, bringing the number of republics and territories forming the Russian Federation to 89 administrative entities.
Kherson strategic importance
- It is the first major Ukrainian city that fell to Russian forces since the outbreak of the war, which constituted a strong morale boost for Moscow.
- It is located within the four regions that the Kremlin announced on September 30 its annexation to Russia, and therefore the Ukrainians’ control over them again would constitute a severe blow to Moscow.
- The province is of particular importance, as it includes the Kakhovka dam, the Antonovsky bridge that connects the city to the southern bank of the Dnipro River and the rest of the Kherson region.
- It is considered an important and major port on the Black Sea and Dnipro River.
- It overlooks the Sea of Azov from the southeast, and the Black Sea from the southwest, in addition to that it forms a link between the Crimea and the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine.
- It has Ukraine’s largest shipbuilding port in the Black Sea, and is a major shipping center.
The area of the four Ukrainian regions, in which the annexation referendums for Russia were organized from 23 to 27 last September, is more than 100,000 square kilometers, which constitutes about 20 percent of the total Ukrainian area, and the population of those regions under Russian control is about 7 Millions of people, about 15 percent of the total population of Ukraine.
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