The Russian occupiers have abruptly cancelled a so-called "referendum" on the occupied territories of Ukraine's Kherson Region to establish a puppet separatist so-called "people's republic" there. However, this does not mean at all that the occupiers intend to liberate the seized Ukrainian territories. On the contrary, they simply decided not to "play democracy" any further. And simply to annex the seized lands without any formalities.

It is no coincidence that, for several weeks now, the Russian media and social networks have been starting to recall the "Tauride Governorate" of tsarist Russia, which, let us recall, included both Crimea and the territory of what is now the Kherson Oblast. And it is explicitly stated that this oblast would be well "restored" by annexing the Kherson Oblast to the already occupied Crimea without any "people's republics" and even without the administrative status of a separate oblast.

On May 9, a collaborator and protégé of the occupants in Kherson, the so-called "deputy chairman of the military-civil administration" Kirill Stremousov, stated that the Kherson region intends to directly join Russia and that the Kherson occupation "authorities" do not intend to hold a "referendum" on establishing an "independent republic" as they had planned earlier. 

At the same time, Ukrainian Defence Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said that the Russian occupation authorities were stepping up reconnaissance activities and increasing the number of checkpoints and patrols in the occupied territories in order to prepare for the annexation of these regions directly to Russia. Motuzyanik stressed that Russian "propaganda" groups were arriving in the occupied regions to strengthen propaganda activities in preparation for annexation.

It is clear that there will be no more formalities in the form of "referendums" and the so-called "presidential elections" in the occupied Tskhinvali region.

Here Anatoly Bibilov who strongly campaigned for "joining of "South Ossetia" to Russia" lost to Alan Gagloev who was against such "referendum". But the new puppet will not go anywhere from the occupants. If necessary, the Tskhinvali region will be annexed without any referendums.

Undoubtedly, it is not Ukrainian Kherson, or even occupied Tskhinvali, that is most threatened by annexation today, but occupied Georgian Abkhazia. The local separatist regime with its ethnocracy, whose separatists are somehow trying to protect the very existence of the dying out Abkhazian ethnos, no longer suits the Kremlin or the Armenian lobby.

Armenian nationalists have long considered Abkhazia and the Black Sea coast of the neighbouring Krasnodar region as something like "maritime Armenia".

Separatists-Abkhazians, who formally hold power in occupied Abkhazia, and who "need" to be fed from the Russian budget are no longer happy for them.

The more so that budgetary funds could be directly "utilized" by representatives of "the most ancient people". Separatist puppets, who think too much of themselves, will most likely be disposed of through direct annexation of the occupied Abkhazia to the Krasnodar region. All the more that such plans have long existed. They were voiced by the late Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

Like the direct annexation of the Kherson region of Ukraine and its administrative annexation to the annexed Crimea without unnecessary "ceremonies" and "referendums", the separatist Sukhumi regime is likely to be done away with. Instead of "independent" Abkhazia there will be just Sukhumi district of Krasnodar Krai.

And those dissatisfied with the annexation will simply be deported to eastern regions of the Russian Federation.  Just like today deportation of people under the guise of "evacuation" from the Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine is already happening. All the more that the Sukhumi and Tskhinvali separatists in the Russian elections were already "assigned" to electoral districts in the Russian Transbaikal.

Kavkazplus