Russia actively preparing for 'referendums' in Kherson, Zaporizhia regions – intelligence

That's according to Vadym Skibitskyi, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, according to a statement posted on the directorate's website.

"The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine clearly sees the preparatory measures being carried out by the occupiers. In the temporarily occupied territories in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, the Kremlin's political party 'United Russia' has begun active work. We see that measures are being taken to clarify the so-called voter lists. In addition, the invaders opened polling stations for holding elections. The process of handing out Russian passports has actively begun. This is a set of measures that Russia is taking in the occupied territories in order to prepare and hold a referendum," Skibitskyi said.

According to him, in order to prevent Russian from creating a bridgehead for further offensives, Ukrainian soldiers will liberate the temporarily occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine.

The UN and EU earlier stated that the world would not recognize fake "referendums" in the occupied territories.

Photo from the website gur.gov.ua