US intelligence says Russia will try to annex the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts by mid-May.
This was reported by CNN.
US Ambassador to the OSCE Michael Carpenter said that Moscow is considering a similar plan for Kherson. According to him, Russia is kidnapping local officials in the cities it holds in the east and south of Ukraine, in order to later replace them with those who are "loyal to Moscow." School principals, journalists and activists are also abducted.
He also noted that in these regions, the occupiers cut off the Internet and mobile communications to deprive people of access to reliable information. Carpenter noted that Russia could try to hold "referendums" in the occupied territories to create "the appearance of democratic legitimacy."