MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/. Ukraine has announced mandatory evacuation of the population from the territories in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) that are still under its control to challenge the legitimacy of a referendum on the republic’s accession to Russia, DPR’s leader Denis Pushilin said on Monday.
"Any steps of the Ukrainian regime are geared at anything but defending the interests of civilians, the more so in Donbass. Here, such statements (about mandatory evacuation - TASS) have absolutely clear goals. These are elements of the frustration, attempts [at challenging] the legitimacy of a referendum due to be held in the Donetsk People’s Republic. What does [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky want? After these settlements are liberated, he will say: ‘There were no people there, what kind of referendum you are speaking about?’ It is a kind of preparatory work," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.
Earlier, chairman of the DPR’s Public Chamber Alexander Kofman told TASS that a referendum on the accession to Russia may be organized in the republic in mid-September.
On July 30, Zelensky said that Ukraine’s government had decided to involuntarily evacuate people from the Donetsk region’s territories under its control. According to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk, those refusing to be evacuated will have to sign a document recognizing their responsibility for their lives.