Summary of Russia moves to annex parts of Ukraine

00:00:00 - 00:10:00

In the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea, officials in Moscow are now moving to annex parts of Ukraine. This will not change anything, as the international community is likely to reject the referendums that are being used to legitimize the annexation. Counter-attacks by Ukraine are also likely to continue.

• 00:00:00 Russian officials have announced that they will hold referendums in two occupied Ukrainian regions this week, in an attempt to legitimize their annexation of Crimea. The referendums are likely to be rejected by the international community, as they are a thinly veiled attempt to legalize Russian actions.
• 00:05:00 The Russian approved leadership of the Zaparosia region signed a decree to establish an election commission with the intent to hold a referendum on Zaparosia joining the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, the Russian appointed leadership of the Carson region signed a similar decree on the same day and then asked Russia for help organizing the vote. At this point, what can be expected are referendums at gunpoint. There are a multitude of reasons that explain why Russia looks to Annex the occupied territories in Ukraine, including the lack of technocratic know-how on governance and the lack of local support. The Russian leadership has appointed Russian bureaucrats as heads of Ukrainian executive parties, which they believe makes for a more effective means of control. However, it has still proven to be insufficient now. Officials in Moscow want even greater preferably direct control over the occupied Ukrainian territories so in Russia's view to achieve more competent governance in the occupied territories they need to be a regular part of the Russian Federation. This would give Russia the right to reinvent the Special Operation as a war and declare the shelling of the newly annexed territories as an attack on Russia itself. The Russian army would be motivated to defend the annexed territories at extremely high human and material costs. The Kremlin could go as far as to respond with
• 00:10:00 In this video, an analyst discusses Russia's recent moves to annex parts of Ukraine, saying that the referendums will not change anything since they would take place against the backdrop of a rapidly changing battle space. Ukraine is not going to give up on its lost territories and counter-attacks are likely to keep going. U.S. officials have repeatedly stated that Ukraine is permitted to use Western weapons to strike within its territories, including Crimea, if attacking Crimea is permissible. However, should Ukraine push out the Russians and take back its annexed territories, Putin's survival would come at risk just as Putin's approval would see a spike after annexation. If the annexed territories return to Ukrainian control, Putin's approval would drop.