Russians are going to annex part of Kharkiv region/”Espresso”
The top military-political leadership of Russia has switched to the tactics of “legalizing” the Ukrainian territories they managed to capture. The occupiers want to do everything to make the de-occupation of cities impossible without heavy fighting and cleansing.
In addition, according to Channel 24 sources in the Ukrainian special services, the Russian occupiers are pursuing the goal of achieving even greater destabilization of the region, as well as preparing for a cry about “attacking Russia” in the event of counterattacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As part of this tactic, the invaders rush to “referenda” not only in the south of Ukraine.
The Kremlin occupiers decided that the occupied territories bordering on Russia can be “attached” to its regions.
Occupation backup plan
According to the Ukrainian secret services, in fact, the Kremlin's Hitler created a backup plan for the “legalization” of the occupation of our territory. If earlier the invaders planned to create quasi-republics, now, without controlling the regional centers, they cannot introduce these Hordes.
Based on the situation on the fronts, the Russian monsters decided to hold a “referendum” in the Kherson region, and also focused on promoting to the borders of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which Putin recognized as the territory of the “republics”.
The Russians continue to try to advance in Zaporozhye and Krivoy Rog, but as of May 5, they may forget about the idea of taking control of the regional cities. The Kremlin sees offensive actions in the southern part of Ukraine as tying down the reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and diverting the attention of the General Staff, as well as a possible use of the existing foothold in the event of any success in the Donbass.
However, if it is quite possible to explain the creation of the “Kherson Republic” for the domestic consumer, then the Kremlin cannot talk about the victory in relation to some quasi-formation in the Kharkov region, where, apart from a few settlements, Russia controls nothing. Therefore, the invaders decided to create a “democratic” transition of the occupied cities of the region to the aggressor country.
So since the beginning of May, in Kupyansk, Russian war criminals began to rapidly collect signatures on the annexation of the city and the region to the neighboring Belgorod region. Of course, such actions do not carry any real meaning, since no one is even going to take into account the wishes of local residents. The annexation of part of the Kharkiv region will not bring any advantages to Putin, because he does not need the territories broken by the war, however, Russia can present this to its population as a victory.
A reason for mobilization and picture for media
With all “democratic” measures from the Russian point of view, such as collecting signatures or holding “referendums,” Putin wants only to create a picture for the domestic consumer. Like, “in Kharkiv/Kherson/Zaporozhye, most people want to go to Russia.” In addition, if the Kremlin Fuhrer decides to annex the territories bordering the aggressor country, he will receive additional leverage for talking about an “attack on Russia”, he will be able to explain the declaration of martial law.
According to preliminary data, in The Kremlin does not plan to conduct a comprehensive mobilization throughout Russia, but it may well do so in the Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk regions. Including, of course, the captured Ukrainian cities, because forcibly sending our people to war with the Armed Forces of Ukraine is a convenient tactic for the Russians.
In addition, despite the lack of real progress on the fronts, Putin is trying to compensate for further attempts to politically destabilize the geopolitical situation. In this context, he perceives both the loosening of the situation in Moldova and the annexation of Ukrainian territories. Although Moscow fully understands that they will no longer be able to aggravate the overall situation, they will not abandon attempts to undermine the civilized forces. Therefore, in this way, they will continue to probe the red lines, in the hope of derailing the negotiations or agreeing to them, but subject to a position of strength.
