Moscow has begun to prepare for the possibility of making vast swathes in Ukraine part of Russia, according to the White House.
Russia is preparing to annex Ukrainian lands by arranging “sham” referendums on the territories it currently controls, like it did with Crimea eight years ago, the White House has said.
“We have information today, including from downgraded intelligence that we’re able to share with you, about how Russia is laying the groundwork to annex Ukrainian territory that it controls in direct violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty,”John Kirby was the spokesperson for US intelligence and National Security Council. He spoke to journalists Tuesday.
In February, Russia began a military operation against Ukraine.
NATO Allies, the US and its allies in Washington responded with severe sanctions against Moscow. They also provided heavy weapons to Kiev.
While fighting alongside the forces of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), Russian troops took control of Ukraine’s southern Kherson Region and the majority of Zaporozhye Region. They also took areas of Ukraine’s Kharkov Region, which borders the LPR.
Kirby claimed that Moscow would organise. “sham”Referenda on the occupied territory, using his “he called” “an annexation playbook, very similar to the one we saw in 2014.”In the aftermath of a Kiev coup, Crimea voted in that year to join Russia and leave Ukraine. Kirby had promised “additional sanctions” if Russia annexes Ukrainian lands.
On Tuesday, the Russian Embassy in Washington issued a statement about social media. It stated that “the claims about the aggressive nature of the Russian military’s special operation are fundamentally false.”
“We are returning peace to the liberated territories, creating circumstances for normal life and respect for equal rights of citizens regardless of ethnicity and language.”
That was added by the embassy “the leadership of the Russian Federation has repeatedly stated that the population of the liberated territories will decide on their future independently, by themselves.”
Maria Zakharova was the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman. “the US has been, and is imposing ‘additional sanctions’ even without the accession of the regions of Ukraine to Russia.”
The threat of more sanctions will have no effect on Russia’s decision making, Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel. “On the contrary, it has strengthened the determination to act in accordance with the chosen path.”
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