Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Russia of planning to ‘falsify’ an independence referendum in the partly occupied southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, telling Ukrainians there not to give personal information to occupying forces.
The Ukrainian president said in a video message on Thursday evening: ‘Be very careful about what information you provide to the invaders. And if they ask you to fill out some questionnaires, leave your passport data somewhere, you should know – this is not to help you …
‘This is aimed to falsify the so-called referendum on your land, if an order comes from Moscow to stage such a show. And this is the reality. Be careful.’
Any attempt at a new annexation would lead to powerful new sanctions on Russia, he said, making ‘your country as poor as Russia hasn’t been since the 1917 civil war’.