The administration of the Kherson region in Ukraine, taken over by the Russian armed forces, said today that President Vladimir Putin would be asked to make this territory part of Russia, TASS reported.
According to the deputy head of the military-civil administration Kirill Stremousov, the necessary “legislative basis” for the entry of the southern Ukrainian region into the Russian Federation will be ready by the end of the year. The referendum in Crimea was not accepted by the international community, which did everything possible to prevent Russia from being perceived as a “full-fledged subject of the international community,” he noted.
Stremousov also said that the railway connection between the Kherson region and Crimea has been restored, but so far it is used only by the military. Negotiations are underway to open a branch of a Russian bank in the occupied Ukrainian region, he added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Kherson residents must decide for themselves whether to make the region part of Russia.
On February 21, Putin recognized the sovereignty of the self-proclaimed so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in eastern Ukraine, TASS recalls.
More than 17,300 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Croatia
Just over 17,300 Ukrainian refugees, 85 percent of whom are women and children, have arrived in Croatia so far, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said today, the Hina news agency reported.
In an interview with Croatian Radio Bozinovic, he pointed out that a very clear and transparent system had been put in place from the outset and a temporary protection mechanism had been activated, guaranteeing refugees all rights, including integration into the labor market.
I am happy to say that the whole process is going smoothly. I believe that Ukrainians are satisfied and grateful for the treatment they received in Croatia, he added.
Bozhinovich spoke of the differences between Ukrainian refugees and migrants coming from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Despite the war, all Ukrainian refugees in Croatia enter through border checkpoints with identity documents, unlike migrants who never cross the border crossings from Bosnia and Herzegovina and have no identity documents, which is a big difference, the Croatian interior minister said.
