DISINFO: Kherson residents want to join Russia, not Ukraine
SUMMARY
Kherson region is a self-sufficient region inhabited by Russian people. The people have made their choice. Citizens decided to vote to join the Russian Federation and become part of the great Russian people.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on the invasion of Ukraine which aims to manipulate public opinion about the annexation of Ukrainian territories.
The city of Kherson and most of Kherson oblast were occupied in March. From the very beginning, the occupation administration claimed that the region will join Russian Federation and that the decision will be taken on a referendum organised by the occupation administration. Such a referendum is considered illegitimate by Ukrainian and international law.
The EU High Representative Josep Borrell already condemned the decision to held a referendum, stating thet the EU won't recognise it. “These illegal ‘votes’ cannot be considered under any circumstance as the free expression of the will of the people living in these regions under constant Russian military threat and intimidation,” EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said in a statement.
It is impossible to establish how many people will support the referendum. There is no independent opinion polls on occupied territories. Many residents of Kherson oblast left the region after occupation. Moreover, the decision of such a referendum is considered void because it is conducted under threat. It is is illegal, similar to the fake referendum in Crimea in March 2014. In 2014, the EU established sanctions against Russia condemning Kremlin's decision to stage an illegal referendum on occupied peninsula.
See more disinformation cases on the topic, alleging that Luhansk and Donetsk declared referendum after referendum, that Crimea joined Russia after the bloody US-coup in Ukraine, or that Crimea joined Russia in a 2014 referendum.