KYIV (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A purported referendum on joining Russia has been postponed by the Russian occupation authorities in Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine, due to security concerns.
The security situation is the reason for the postponement, said the deputy head of Russian-appointed administration, Kirill Stremousov.
Intense Ukrainian shelling rendered a crucial Kherson bridge inoperable, he said.
The referendum proposals in Kherson and other locations have been criticised as illegitimate by Ukraine and its Western partners.
Ukraine claims that its forces have taken back control of Vysokopillya, a small town located about 167 kilometres (104 miles) north of the centre of Kherson.
This gain, which has not been independently verified, is a result of a counteroffensive in the south that the Ukrainian army initiated last week.
A picture appears to show soldiers hoisting the Ukrainian flag above the town, which had close to 4,000 residents prior to the war. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy director of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, posted it on Facebook.
“Vysokopillya, Kherson Region. Ukraine. Today,” reads the description of his photo.
Without naming them, President Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces had retaken two “population centres” in the south.
Mr. Stremousov said, while speaking on Russian state television that Ukrainian shelling had seriously damaged Kherson’s Antonovskiy Bridge, rendering it impassable for vehicles.
Ukrainian fire was also being directed towards the city’s infrastructure and the barges that carried civilians across the Dnieper (Dnipro) river, he said.
The bridge has been used by the Russians to transport personnel and equipment into and out of Kherson.
In an effort to drive the Russians from the city, which was the first to fall to them following their invasion on February 24, Ukraine has deployed rocket launchers made in the US called Himars Multiple.
Russia has announced plans to hold referendums in other occupied areas, similar to those held in Crimea after its troops took control of the peninsula in 2014. These proposals include Kherson.
Iryna Vereshchuk, deputy prime minister of Ukraine, pleaded with residents to flee Kherson as combat grew more intense in the region. She has additionally stated that everyone who takes part in the upcoming Russian referendum risks being prosecuted by Ukraine.
Since Russia’s invasion has made life in Ukraine so unstable, it is unclear who would be eligible to vote in such referendums. Internationally, the 2014 Crimea vote, which was held there while under military rule, was not recognised.
