“putin has to demonstrate his success by May 9. He will do his best to hold a referendum by any means and say that the ‘people of kherson region’ proclaim ‘kherson people’s republic’ and want to joint russia. It will be presented as one of the victories of the russian occupation forces in the territory of Ukraine. The next steps could be Zaporizhzhia region… Odesa region... This is putin’s strategy, which he is trying to implement in the territory of independent states of the former Soviet Union,” Vadym Skibitskyi, the representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, said this on the air of ‘Nastoiashchee vremia’ TV channel.

The tactics of the occupation country in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine are to establish strict control over the territory by law enforcement agencies and to appoint puppets at positions in local authorities, who will follow all the kremlin’s instructions.

However, according to the representative of military intelligence of Ukraine, resistance and the active stance of Ukrainian citizens in the temporarily occupied territories may thwart the referendum and all plans of invaders regarding the creation of the so-called ‘kherson people’s republic’.