Article Author:
Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that negotiations with Ukraine and its international allies would be over if Russia went ahead with a referendum on joining Russia in the occupied territories.
Russian forces and their allied separatist forces are now in eastern Ukraine's Donbass and southern regions after launching what the Kremlin calls "special military operations" into neighboring territory. holds a vast territory. Officials in both regions have raised the possibility of holding a referendum.
In his nightly video speeches, Zelensky said that Kyiv was firm in its position that it would not cede territory to Russia.
"Our country's position remains the same. We will not give up anything of ours," Mr Zelensky said.
"If the occupiers go down the path of a pseudo-referendum, they will close themselves to dialogue with Ukraine and the free world, which the Russian side clearly needs at some point.
Shortly after Russian forces launched their invasion of Ukraine in February, Russian and Ukrainian officials held several meetings.
However, little progress has been made since late March, no meetings have been held, and both sides blame the other for the lack of contact.
Russian forces hold much of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, and officials in charge said a referendum on Russia's membership could be held in the coming weeks or months. suggests that there is
In Donbass, Russian agents seized part of his territory in 2014, held an independence referendum, and declared a "people's republic" in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The Kremlin recognized the republic on the eve of the February invasion.
The governor of the Luhansk region, which has been under almost total Russian control for several weeks, is preparing for a new referendum over the weekend in the newly occupied region.
(Reported by Ronald Popeski; Edited by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Shumaker)
