Russian authorities have postponed the sham “referendums” in the occupied territories of Donbas, as well as in Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts. Local residents were expected to vote on whether they want the occupied territories to “join” the Russian Federation.
Source: Meduza, a Latvia-based Russian news outlet, citing sources close to the Kremlin
Details: Meduza’s sources explained that the only reason why Russia has decided to postpone the referendum is the success of the Ukrainian counteroffensive on the Kharkiv front.
The sources stressed that the Kremlin-aligned spin doctors who had been operating in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia oblasts have been recalled.
One of the sources said: “All of them fled the f**k out of there. They received an order to go back home.”
However, the Russian spin doctors who were ordered to prepare the sham “referendum” in Kherson Oblast are staying there, at least for now.
Meduza recalls that in early September, Andrey Turchak, the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Secretary of the General Council of the United Russia party, suggested that it would be “right and symbolic” to hold the sham “referendums” on 4 November, when Russia celebrates Unity Day. This is the first time a Russian official of Turchak’s rank announced a specific date for the “referendums”.
According to Meduza’s sources, early on in the war the Kremlin was convinced that the occupied territories of Ukraine would have been annexed as early as April. Due to the Russian army’s failures on the front, the date has been pushed back to May, then to 11 September, when regional elections are held in Russia.
Source: Ukrainian pravda