Status: 09/30/2022 04:51 a.m
In Moscow, four occupied Ukrainian regions are to be annexed to Russia. A ceremony is planned to mark the signing of the contracts. Many Russians support “joining”. Nevertheless, there is no party mood.
Red Square was completely cordoned off yesterday. But from a side street you could see the big stage, set up right in front of the world-famous St. Basil’s Cathedral. The decor in the national colors of Russia was already attached, as well as the lettering: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, Cherson. In the early evening, a concert is to be held here that is to be sealed beforehand in the Kremlin: the supposed “reunification” with the four aforementioned Ukrainian regions.
Putin’s spokesman Peskov said: “The ceremony for signing the treaties on the accession of the new territories to the Russian Federation will take place at 3 p.m. in the Grand Kremlin Palace. They held referendums and addressed the Russian side with the corresponding request.”
President Vladimir Putin is then to give an “extensive speech”. It is not officially known whether he will also appear at the celebrations on Red Square afterwards.
Most people are for “join”
There was hardly any sign of the preparations for tonight in the pedestrian zone just a few meters from Red Square – apart from the increased presence of security forces. Just as little as the party mood or even anticipation among the passers-by. “These are the times. What should we celebrate? The world is restless. This is not the time to celebrate,” says Maxim from Siberia, who is visiting Moscow.
In contrast to the annexation of Crimea, which caused a kind of patriotic high in 2014, the people in Russia are far more sober about the impending so-called “accession” of the southern and eastern Ukrainian regions – even if most of them are in principle are for.
“We have to help. We have to help our people. And that’s the only way to do it,” says one young couple. “Well, that’s the will of the people. That’s why I’m for it. Like any normal person, we want peace for everyone – in a normal way, without sacrifices,” says an elderly woman.
“This is a final process”
However, the signing of the official accession treaties is only one step on the way to the complete annexation of the four Ukrainian regions – albeit a crucial one. A constitutional review must then be carried out and the corresponding legal basis must be created. The lower and upper house of parliament must also agree.
The respective sessions of the Duma and the Federation Council are scheduled to take place on Monday and Tuesday. Until then, the heads of the four regions want to stay in Moscow, said Yevgeny Balitskyi, the person responsible in Zaporizhia appointed by Russia. “I think MPs will definitely support that, but I want to see this great event with my own eyes – it’s a final process.”
No international recognition
After the corresponding legislative package has been passed, Putin still has to sign it. Then the so-called “annexation” of the four Ukrainian territories will be considered complete from the Russian point of view. Internationally, however, this annexation will be just as little recognized as the previous sham referendums and the annexation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea more than eight years ago.