Donetsk People’s Republic Plans Ukraine Referendum Similar To How Russia Annexed Crimea?
The Donetsk People’s Republic, the name of the self-proclaimed “government” that has seized 10 cities in the name of pro-Russian separatists, is now discussing a new referendum in Ukraine and some people fear it will ask Russia to annex another section of the country similar to how Crimea was annexed.
In a related report by The Inquisitr, around 25 percent of the world believes the United States will cause World War 3 or the end of the world. Russia also claims a CIA plot backed by President Obama is manipulating Ukraine and they’ve already threatened a military response if they believe their interests are at risk:
“If we are attacked, we would certainly respond. If our interests, our legitimate interests, the interests of Russians have been attacked directly, like they were in South Ossetia for example, I do not see any other way but to respond in accordance with international law. Russian citizens being attacked is an attack against the Russian Federation.”
The reference to South Ossetia refers to how the United States and Russia butted heads over Russia during the Bush administration. Western leaders have largely dismissed such claims are instead claim Vladimir Putin and Russia are provoking Ukraine’s new government. Regardless of who is at fault, the pro-Russian separatists are also pushing for a referendum exactly like the vote that ended up in Russia annexing Crimea.
Previous reports have claimed that the leaders of the Donetsk People’s Republic plan on turning the May 11 referendum into an appeal to Russia. Already, Russian state TV has played segments where armed branches of the Donetsk People’s Republic have asked that Russia come into Ukraine to protect them. Now whether or not that will include the subject of annexation is not known. Newspapers from Kiev claim the “administration of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic said the issue of its inclusion in Ukraine will not be addressed at the May 11 referendum,” which could be interpreted to mean the calls for Russia to annex eastern Ukraine may be put off until later.
It’s also possible the Donetsk People’s Republic realizes they’d lose this vote and they’re wanting to wait until votes are secured. While the western world largely claimed that Russia’s influence resulted in Crimean citizens overwhelming voting in favor of annexation, others said Crimea would have been annexed even without outside pressures because it was a popular choice. But this time around it’s claimed the opposite is the prevailing opinion in eastern Ukraine.
A recent poll of the people in Donetsk reveals that 52.2 percent of the people were against Russia annexing them and 66.3 percent do not want military intervention from Russia. While that sounds like a close race, in this case it’s only 25.5 percent who are in favor of becoming part of Russia again. Even when the poll was narrowed down to Russian-speaking Ukrainians in the area about 69.7 percent opposed Moscow taking power. Others preferred solutions like becoming their own republic or to make a change in Ukraine’s central government. For example, 74 percent consider acting President Oleksandr Turchynov to be illegitimate.
