Head of self-proclaimed ‘DNR’ ‘promises new phase of combat operations’ after ‘becoming part of Russia’
Denis Pushilin, who heads the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic,” has said that after the “DNR” “becomes part of Russia” following a “referendum,” a “new phase of combat operations” will begin.
"The entire territory of the Donetsk People's Republic, within its constitutional borders, will be liberated,” TASS quoted Pushilin as saying.
As of the end of September, Ukraine controls about 40% of the Donetsk region. In April, Russian authorities called the “liberation” of the Donetsk region the main goal of the second stage of the military operation in Ukraine.
The head of the “DNR” made a statement to this effect after the so-called Election Committee of the self-proclaimed “republic” handed him the final protocol of the “referendum,” according to which the majority of voters allegedly supported becoming part of the Russian Federation.
Pushilin will now go to Moscow to complete the “legal procedure.” The head of the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic,” Leonid Pasechnik, will reportedly arrive in Moscow for the same purpose in the near future.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to announce the annexation of the “LNR,” “DNR” and the occupied territories of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions on September 30, when, according to unconfirmed official reports, he will address the Federal Assembly. The Federation Council may approve the “annexation” laws at a meeting on October 4. There are no plans to hold an unscheduled meeting on this issue, said Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko.
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