Collaborator and so-called "head" of the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia oblast, Evgeny Balytskyi, stated that he signed the order to start a "referendum" for the "reunification" of the captured territories with Russia.
The video with his announcement was published by the Kremlin mass media.
Collaborator Balytskyi, who, according to the SSU, helped the occupiers to steal and export Ukrainian grain, announced in his statement that the so-called oblast election commission began preparing and organizing a pseudo-referendum.
- In July, the media reported that Russia was in a hurry to hold "referendums" on the annexation of the occupied territories of Ukraine by September 15, so that Putin could then annex them to Russia.
- The day before, the city council of Kherson announced that the occupiers had launched active preparations for a pseudo -referendum for joining the Kherson oblast to Russia and were "training" the local population. In August, the SSU intercepted the occupiersʼ documents about the "referendum" in the Kherson oblast. Pickets and 20 "election commissions" are planned there.
- President Zelensky stated on August 7 that pseudo-referendums in the occupied territories will make negotiations with Russia impossible.