Medvedev Backs Votes For Ukrainian Regions To Join Russia-RTRS

Reuters reporting that former Russian president and close ally of Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev has stated his vocal backing for referendums to be held in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine that could see them annexed in a similar fashion to the Crimea in 2014.

• On 19 September, the leaders of the so-called Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics in the Donbas stated their intentions to request votes on joining Russia. Today, they have been joined by officials governing the Russian-occupied areas in the Kherson region in Ukraine's south.
• Medvedev: "Encroachment onto Russian territory is a crime which allows you to use all the forces of self–defence .This is why these referendums are so feared in Kyiv and the West. It is equally important that after the amendments to the constitution of our state, no future leader of Russia, no official will be able to reverse these decisions."
• Former president a close ally of Putin, and therefore unlikely to offer a view not tacitly endorsed by the Kremlin. Leader of State Duma has also voiced support for referendums in Donbas.
• Any votes, unlikely to be viewed as free and fair, could escalate the situation in Ukraine further if Moscow seeks to formally annex the territories rather than having them as 'independent people's republics'.