Drift-document reveals Russian plans for Ukrainian occupied regions

The announcement of this draft document, provided by SchemesA Ukrainian Radio Free Europe Research Service Project comes as fighting in Ukraine's eastern and southern regions continues. Russian forces there are conducting offensive from several fronts against strong Ukrainian resistance.

This proposal also comes at a time when Russian officials have given signals that they want to organise referenda in parts of Ukrainian regions: Donjeck and Luhansk. Large parts of these two regions have been under the control of pro-Russian separatists for almost eight years. But Russia wants to hold a referendum in the other Ukrainian region, Herson.

Voting in these referenda would be aimed at uniting areas occupied with Russia, as has happened in Crime, 2014.

Just days before the start of Ukraine's invasion on February 24th, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia was recognising the Donjeck and Luhansk regions as independent states a decision Kiev and most of the world's states rejected.

The draft document, provided by Schemes, titled “Manifest of the South Russia People's Council”, dates from April 16th. It does not specify which conquered territories would make up the new state of the South Russian “”.

This state, in this draft document, refers to the word “Rus”. That is the name used for the toʹu referred to territories organized from the 8th to 10, originally controlled by the kingdom in Kiev, until power was transferred to Moscow. This led to Russia's creation.

But this manifesto claims Ukraine has lost its legitimacy after the revolution of Maidani in 2013-2014, which culminated in the collapse of pro-rus President Viktor Yanukovych from power.

Russia, long ago, has been trying to argue that street protests were coups, and that the Ukrainian government was taken under the direction of “nazis” and “Banders” a reference to the Ukrainian nationalist leader in the 20th century, Stepan Bandera.

“In response to the terror and totalitarian enforcement of the Nazism and Bander ideology from the former state of Ukraine, we, in the form of the South Russia People's Council, take power in our hands and create a new state, South Russia”, the document says.

“We know Russian, but also the Ukrainian dialect, both the mother language and language of interethnic communication, with the equality of all languages and nationalities”, says the text of this document.

“We are building our state on the basis of understanding the historical and genetic ties and unity of the Russian tripartite nationality, Ukrainian, Belarus and Russian ʹ brotherly friendship and mutual aid”, the document also says.

Harrison waiting for relief.

Data from the document shows that Roman Roman Romanov, a senior official of the United Russia Party, is either the author of the document, or involved in its creation. United Russia is a party associated with the Kremlin, which dominates the Russian Parliament and the country's political life.

Officials who spoke on condition of anonymity for Schemes said the document later went to councilors of Konstantin Malefeev, a wealthy and influential businessman in Russia who has played a significant role in funding and supporting separatist efforts in Luhansk and Donjeck for years.

Malofeyev was sanctioned by the United States and the European Union in 2014 for his role in annexing Crime. He has been indicted in early April due to the attempt to avoid these sanctions. Neither Romanov nor United Russia's secretary-general, Andrei Turchak, were able to comment. Malofeyev refused to comment on the manifest, saying he does not speak to reporters.

Portal Meduza reported last week that the Kremlin was considering the possibility of holding two referenda in the Donjeck and Luhansk regions on May 14th and 15th.

Meduza said another referendum could be organised in Herson, a region north of the Crimea, which is partly occupied by Russian forces.

Unfortunately, there have been rumours that invaders are preparing something [in Herson] in the early days of May”, Free Europe Hannady Laha, chief of the military administration of this region, told Radio Europe. Whether you want to call it “

I can only say this: the entire Herson region is waiting for release. It's Ukrainian. [Herson region] wants to live in a united, peaceful and glorious Ukraine”, Laha said.