- Reports say that
Russia wants to hold a sham referendum to establish a "Kherson People's Republic." - A video showing Putin loyalists planning to a puppet government was staged, sources told Insider.
Ukrainian politicians warned that Russia is planning a sham referendum to establish a "breakaway region" in the occupied city of Kherson, the first major Ukrainian city to come under Russian control.
In a Facebook post, Sergey Khlan, a member of Kherson's regional council, warned that Russian occupying forces are planning to establish the "Kherson People's Republic," a breakaway republic similar to Donbas and Crimea.
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba and presidential advisor Mikhailo Podolyak echoed the warnings on social media.
A video published by Russian state-backed outlet RT this week also showed a group of Ukrainian politicians announcing the formation of a new regional authority in Kherson, the first major Ukrainian city under Russian control.
Three Kherson-based sources told Insider that the video is staged propaganda and that there is no evidence that this group has any authority.
One source described them as "political hookers," while another said they are "the most criminal politicians" in Kherson, a city of 290,000 people in southern
Plans for a sham referendum shows that Putin's military invasion is failing
The British Ministry of Defence highlighted the plan for a referendum in Kherson in an intelligence update earlier this week.
—Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) March 15, 2022
British MP James Cleverly told Sky News that the move was evidence that Putin's military invasion is failing.
"It is quite clear that Vladimir Putin's original intention was to have a lightning war – a very fast war – to capture Ukraine, take Kyiv and install a puppet government that is clearly not working."
"They are failing in those military aims," Cleverly said. "So it is now quite obvious that Vladimir Putin and the Russian military are attempting some form of legitimacy or justification for their military actions."
He added that a "faux, a fake election" in Kherson "would be recognized for exactly what it is."
Propaganda video features a cast of colorful characters
In the video published by RT this week, a group of Ukrainian politicians claimed that regional authorities are no longer functioning and that they must step in.
Kirill Stremousov, an activist and social media personality RT identifies as the committee's representative says in the video that establishing relations with the Russian Federation is a top priority for him.
Other people identified in the video include Volodymyr Saldo, former Kherson mayor, currently a city council member, Igor Semenchev, a city council member, and Tatyana Kuzmich, a former professor.
Three Kherson-based sources, speaking anonymously because of fears for their safety, told Insider that the people in the video are known to be pro-Russian politicians who have been accused of an array of crimes.
Professor Tatyana Kuzmich was charged with treason in 2020 over suspicions she was working with an FSB agent.
Activist Kirill Stremousov was also briefly detained on suspicion of being an FSB informant in connection to Kuzmich's case, according to Ukrainian media outlets.
He had previously gained
Vlodymyr Saldo, who served as mayor of Kherson between 2002-2012, was arrested in 2016 in the Dominican Republic over allegations that he had kidnapped a fellow Ukrainian.
Saldo was accused of kidnapping a man who published an audio recording of a voice similar to his talking about cooperating with the FSB, said The Day (Kyiv).
Igor Semenchev, who was previously an official in the Antonovka suburb of Kherson, was arrested under suspicion of stealing millions from the village council's budget, according to Depo.Kherson.
Semenchev claimed later, in a Facebook post, that he and Saldo were detained by Russian forces and forced to participate in the RT video.
He wrote that his loved ones are now under threat and claimed that Saldo was still in the custody of Russian forces.
Earlier this week, Saldo also said he was against a referendum in Kherson, writing on Facebook: "I did not betray my soul, my soul is Kherson, and Kherson is Ukraine."
One Kherson resident, an acquaintance of Semenchev, told Insider that he believes Semenchev only made the statement to cover his tracks and escape future prosecution.
The trio took part in a rally in Kherson on March 13 to commemorate the city's liberation from Nazi occupation during the Second World War.
—Natalka Suber (@Morgenlieb) March 15, 2022
Stremousov said in a YouTube video that the rally was to honor the Soviet heroes who liberated the city from Nazis, and several rally-goers carried Soviet Union flags, which are banned in Ukraine.
Putin has claimed that his unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine is to "de-Nazify" the country – an unfounded statement.
Russia following its occupation playbook
The suggestion that Russia is planning to install a puppet regional government in Kherson, or at least give the impression of it, aligns with its occupation strategy seen in Crimea and beyond.
Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Kyiv-based human rights lawyer and director of the Center for Civil Liberties, told Politico: "Their plan is to occupy territories, physically liquidate active people, find people they can appoint as local representatives and control them."
"We saw this in 2014, when the war started, how they work. Nothing changed. They repeat these tactics; it's a deliberate policy of political persecution and intimidation of the local population."
Last week, Russia installed an acting mayor in the Ukrainian city Melitopol after Russian forces abducted the original mayor. The city's democratically elected mayor, Ivan Fedorov, was later freed.
The mayor of Dniprorudne in southern Ukraine was also abducted, as was the Skadovsk mayor Alexander Yakovlev. Following protests, Yakovlev was released.
Similarly, reports have emerged of activists and reporters in Kherson going missing.
Russia's alleged plans for a referendum echo the disputed referendum it held following its annexation of Ukrainian region Crimea in 2014, which remains unrecognized by the international community.
However, unlike in Crimea, where weak relations with the central government allowed an easy Russian victory, Ukrainian forces have been fighting back.
Defiant residents of Kherson have also come out in droves to protest against the Russian occupation.