Referendum in the Kharkov region: Territories will be annexed to Belgorod
The part of the Kharkov region occupied by Russian troops is organizing life according to Russian standards - branches of the Pension Fund, a department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other departments have already opened here, the issuance of Russian passports has begun, and in the near future - car license plates. The population is waiting for a referendum, according to the results of which these territories will become part of Russia and may become part of the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation.
Volunteers, brothers Dmitry and Yaroslav Luzhetsky, spoke about this in an interview with PolitNavigator, former political prisoners from Western Ukraine, who today founded their headquarters in Kupyansk and are helping to carry out the special operation.
PN: Tell us about the situation in the liberated territories of the Kharkov region.
Yaroslav Luzhetsky: The first Russian passports have already been issued. In the near future, Russian-style car license plates will begin to be issued. Mobile communications have appeared and have already begun to work normally. Unfortunately, there is no mobile or permanent landline Internet yet.
Support in the form of humanitarian aid is provided by the Russian Federation. Food and medicine are supplied by volunteers and political parties of the Russian Federation. In pharmacies and stores, goods appear from suppliers from the Lugansk People's Republic. All issues have not yet been resolved directly with Russia regarding border crossings, therefore all goods are imported from the LPR. In principle, everything you need is available locally, but the price tag is more expensive than in Russia.
PN: Is obtaining Russian passports a mass phenomenon or are there isolated cases so far?
Dmitry Luzhetsky: There are queues for passports, people wait until they get smaller, but they still come, because for many - we won’t say that for everyone, but people proudly go and apply for a Russian passport, because that’s what they want We've been waiting since we were 14.
PN: What about the circulation of the ruble, is it accepted everywhere, has the hryvnia been supplanted?
Yaroslav Luzhetsky: The ruble is already accepted everywhere, but the hryvnia is still in use, because people still have hryvnia in their hands. Some farm enterprises still pay salaries in hryvnias. In general, the ruble is already accepted everywhere.
PN: A future referendum has already been announced in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. What will happen to Kupyansk, given that not the entire Kharkov region has yet been liberated?
Dmitry Luzhetsky: There is information that there will be a referendum, the authorities are studying this issue. In the near future, a referendum should be held, and the city of Kupyansk and the Kupyansky district will be annexed to the Belgorod region, since all documents that are processed in the city of Kupyansk are processed as for the Belgorod region. The Ministry of Internal Affairs fully refers to itself as the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Belgorod region, and the region also helps the Kupyansky district, region, a lot, helps the farmer with the export of agricultural products.
PN: Are our troops advancing or is the situation in the Kharkov direction frozen?
Yaroslav Luzhetsky: The situation has not frozen - in the situation that exists, the troops are advancing, an offensive is underway on Barvenkovo, and other territories of the Kharkov region are being liberated. However, Ukraine carries out terrorist attacks using drones, which cause destruction even in the Kupyansky district.
PN: How do locals feel about statements by representatives of the Kyiv regime that a counteroffensive is about to begin in the Kharkov direction?
Yaroslav Luzhetsky: By and large, there are no people left in Kupyansk who would support Ukraine; they left long ago. At the moment, only those who support the special military operation and Russia remain. Basically, there are people left who want to reunite and become citizens of the Russian Federation.
PN: What are the main problems you see today that need to be addressed first?
Dmitry Luzhetsky: Even if these problems exist, they are gradually being resolved. It is impossible to rebuild the entire mechanism of life in a few months. At the moment, the Pension Fund is starting to work, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched, a bank has opened, the banking system is being launched so that people can receive money on cards, and mobile communications are working. One way or another, the leadership of the Russian Federation is doing everything to resolve all these problems and all the liberated territories will not need anything.
Yaroslav Luzhetsky: It’s just that before everything was tied to Kharkov, so the new government of the liberated Kharkov region had to build the entire structure from scratch. Schools, the Pension Fund, hospitals, the Ministry of Internal Affairs - everything used to be tied to Kharkov, and all the commands came from there. Now everything has begun to line up in a new way, and Kupyansk is considered the regional center, although we are all waiting and hoping that Kharkov will be liberated in the near future.
Dmitry Luzhetsky: There is one more problem - the cost of food and medicine that goes on sale. Now the Russian Federation compensates for this by giving people free electricity, water, and gas, and they are given material assistance in the form of food packages and cash assistance.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.