/UKRAINE: Annexation Referendums Put On Hold As Russia's Invasion Stalls

The Russian authorities have decided to put annexation referendums in the occupied parts of Ukraine on hold "indefinitely," two sources close to the Kremlin told Meduza.

• Moscow had been planning to hold "referendums" to join Russia in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republic and in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Both September 11 (Russian regional elections) and November 4 (Russia's Unity Day) had been cited as potential dates, but failure to establish durable control over sufficient parts of Ukrainian territory precluded holding the polls on any of those days.
• According to the Meduza report, "Ukraine's successful counteroffensive in and around the Kharkiv region was the sole reason behind the Kremlin's decision to postpone the referendums. The sources stressed that political strategists with ties to the Kremlin in Ukraine's Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions have already been called back to Russia," but some remain in the Kherson region. It is unclear when the Kremlin might unfreeze its annexation plans, but the decision will depend on the situation on the ground.
• Ukrainian troops managed to recapture the strategic towns of Izyum and Kupiansk just days after launching a counteroffensive in the northeast. As its forces retreated to avoid encirclement, Russia retaliated with missile strikes at Ukraine's critical infrastructure, causing widespread power and water outages across the country, including in Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv.