SIMFEROPOL, June 7. /TASS/. The technical aspects of the issues of holding a referendum on the Zaporozhye region joining Russia are being worked through, the timeframe has not yet been defined, aide to a member of the chief council of the military-civilian administration of the Zaporozhye region Artem Sharlay told TASS on Tuesday.
"The technical issues are being worked out now, when to do it, how to do it. Right now this issue is being worked on because a significant part of the region where almost half of the population resides is controlled by the West, by Nazis. The residents of the city of Zaporozhye itself right now cannot vote because if they say 'yes,' if they say 'we want to join Russia,' they will be immediately taken to SBU’s torture chambers, people live in fear there," he said.
The official added that the issue of the correctness of making such a decision before the Zaporozhye region is completely liberated is also being discussed. For instance, he noted that if an electronic system is set up to vote on the possibility of the referendum, the residents of territories controlled by the Ukrainian army still won’t be able to participate since the Internet and mobile phone services are disrupted there.
Earlier, a member of the chief council of the civil-military administration of the Zaporozhye Region Vladimir Rogov reported that about 70% of the Zaporozhye region had been liberated. That said, the regional center, the city of Zaporozhye where almost half of the region’s population resides, remains under the control of the Ukrainian army.