US says Russia plans to hold fake independence vote on captured Ukrainian territory

The United States accused Russia on Thursday of planning a fake independence vote to justify territorial conquest in Ukraine as Russian forces accelerate a major offensive in the east of the country.

Responding to Ukraine’s repeated demands for the supply of heavier weapons and equipment to Western leaders, US President Joe Biden asked the US Congress on Thursday for $33 billion to support Kiev, a giant leap in US funding. dollars for weapons and ammunition and other forms of military aid.

The package, which also includes $8.5 billion in direct economic aid and $3 billion in humanitarian and food aid, is to isolate and punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine on February 24 that overthrew cities and forced more than 5 million people to migrate. form part of their efforts. flee the country.

Washington said it hoped Ukrainian forces would not only repel Russian attacks in the east, but also weaken Russia’s military so it could not threaten its neighbors. Russia said it was a “proxy war” waged by NATO against it and threatened vague retaliation this week.

Defeated in its efforts to capture the capital, Kiev, in the north, Russia shifted forces hundreds of kilometers east to seize the two provinces in a war that the West believed could be a decisive turning point for the war.

Russian forces are now entrenched in the east, where Moscow-backed separatists have held territory since 2014 but expanded after conquering new parts of the south in March.

The US mission to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said the Kremlin could try to hold “fake referenda” in the southern and eastern regions it has seized since February, serving as one of the darkest pages in history.

“These fake, illegitimate referendums will certainly be accompanied by a wave of abuse against those who want to oppose or undermine Moscow’s plans,” the US delegation said. “The international community should make it clear that such a referendum will never be recognized as legitimate.”

Ukraine reported night-time explosions in the southern city of Kherson, the only regional capital Russia has so far captured since the invasion. Ukrainian officials said Russian troops at the scene used tear gas and stun grenades to quell pro-Ukrainian demonstrations on Wednesday, and are now attacking Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih, shelling areas on the outskirts of the city.

Russian state media reported on Thursday that an official from a self-styled pro-Russian “military-civilian commission” in Kherson said the region would start using the Russian currency, the ruble, from May 1.