Russia may stage a “referendum” in the Ukrainian city of Kherson to legitimize it as a “breakaway republic” and make other attempts to subvert democracy as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked assault on his neighbor, British intelligence officials said Tuesday.
The Ministry of Defence said the staged referendum would attempt to give the southern port city the same type of status as Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea — places Russia previously tried to bring into Moscow’s orbit through force.
The agency said there were protests in Kherson Monday, with Russian forces firing warning shots in an attempt to disperse them. There were also public demonstrations in the Russian-occupied cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk.
Russia installed its own mayor in Melitopol after the abduction of its real mayor on Friday. Authorities said the mayor of Dniprorudne reportedly has been abducted, too.
“Russia is likely to make further attempts to subvert Ukrainian democracy as it attempts to consolidate political control of Ukraine,” the intelligence agency said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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