(Dan Tri) – According to plan, Russia plans to hold elections in four regions annexed from Ukraine on September 10.
A man in Donetsk, Ukraine voted in the referendum to annex Russia on September 27, 2022 (Photo: Reuters).
According to TASS news agency, the Russian Election Commission on June 15 approved a plan to organize elections for legislative bodies and government representatives in four newly annexed regions from Ukraine, including Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia.
The plan will be presented to President Vladimir Putin for approval.
`Today’s meeting is extremely important. We are taking on a huge responsibility and all members of the election commission understand that. The newly merged regions will hold elections together with all of Russia
This official said that this election is very important for the newly merged regions, bringing political stability and many other factors.
In October last year, President Putin signed a law annexing four regions of Ukraine into Russian territory after a controversial referendum there.
Four regions in Ukraine referendum to join Russia in 2022 – orange (Map: Aljazeera).
Ukraine and Western countries do not recognize the results of the referendum.
In the counterattack that began on June 8, Ukraine regained control of more than 100 square kilometers of territory in both Zaporizhia and Donetsk.
Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov said on June 15 that the Ukrainian army had advanced 3km near the village of Mala Tokmachka in Zaporizhia and 7km near the village of Velyka Novosilka in Donetsk.
The Ukrainian army also confirmed that its forces are advancing in Donetsk, around the city of Bakhmut, but admitted that the war is still very tense.
`The only thing that has changed is the priority target, timing and frequency of (Russia’s) attacks,` Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said.
Currently there is still much debate whether Ukraine has actually counterattacked or not.
`We are just surveying the entire front line. We have not yet started a counterattack,` Mr. Podolyak said on national television.
According to Mr. Podolyak, Ukraine is applying a modern combat method.
`No Western expert can understand what is happening in this war,` he said.
Commenting on the end of the conflict, Mr. Podolyak predicted that this is unlikely to happen before 2024.