The leader of Ukraine’s breakaway region of Luhansk said on Sunday that he might hold a “referendum” to decide whether the region would become part of Russia after Moscow sent troops into the region.
“I believe that in the near future, a referendum will be held on the territory of the republic, in which people will be able to express their views on whether we should join the Russian Federation,” Russian agencies quoted the leader of the Russian Federation as saying. Lugansk separatists, Leonid Pasnik.
“For some reason, I’m sure that will be the case,” he said.
Russia began military action in Ukraine at the end of February, claiming it was defensive action in favor of pro-Russian rebel groups in the east, the self-proclaimed “Republics” of Donetsk and Lugansk.
Before the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of these two regions.
Many of these industrial regions, which are mostly home to the Russian-speaking population, left Ukraine’s control when the conflict erupted in 2014. More than 14,000 people were killed.
In the same year, Russia annexed the Crimea, and then the Ukrainian lands, after overthrowing a leader close to Moscow. This change in the situation came after the organization of a referendum in that region of southern Ukraine.
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