How the Kremlin is forcing Ukrainians to embrace Russian life

In Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, local leaders are forcing civilians to accept Russian rule. Next came sham elections that would formalize Vladimir V. Putin's claim that they are Russian territories.

They handed out Russian passports, mobile phone numbers and decoders for watching Russian TV. They replaced the Ukrainian currency with the ruble, redirected the Internet through Russian servers and arrested hundreds of people who resisted assimilation. by Moscow forces use fear and indoctrination to coerce Ukrainians into adopting a Russian way of life. “We are one people,” say the blue-white and red billboards. "We stand with Russia."

Now comes the next act in President Vladimir V. Putin's 21st century version of a war of conquest: the "referendum" popular. ”

Russian-appointed administrators in cities like Kherson, southern Ukraine, are preparing the ground for a vote as early as September that the Kremlin will present as a popular election desire in the region to be part of Russia. They recruit pro-Russian locals for new “election commissions” and promote to Ukrainian civilians the supposed benefits of joining their country; they would even have already printed the ballots.

Any referendum would be totally illegitimate, Ukrainian and Western officials say, but it would have worrying consequences. Analysts both in Moscow and Ukraine expect this to serve as a prelude to Mr Putin officially declaring the conquered area to be Russian territory, protected by Russian nuclear weapons - making future attempts to Kyiv to drive out the potentially much more expensive Russian forces. /p>

Annexation would also represent Europe's largest territorial expansion by force since World War II, affecting an area several times larger than Crimea, the peninsula Ukraine, which Mr. Putin took control of in 2014.

ImageIn a photograph taken during 'A visit organized by the Russian military, a woman applied for Russian citizenship and a Russian passport in July in Melitopol, Ukraine.Credit...Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA, via Shutterstock

The prospect of further annexation has also affected the military calendar, putting pressure on Kyiv to attempt a risky defensive response sooner, rather than waiting for Western weapons to arrive sooner. long range which would increase the chances of success. Vladimir Konstantinov, the speaker of the Russian-imposed Crimean Parliament, said in a telephone interview this week. "They will say, 'Take us under your guardianship, under your development, under your security.'"

Mr. Konstantinov, a longtime pro-Russian politician in Crimea, sat next to Mr Putin in the Kremlin when the Russian president signed the document annexing the peninsula to Russia. He also helped organize the Crimean "referendum" in which 97% voted to join Russia - a result widely dismissed by the international community as a sham.

Now Mr. Konstantinov said he was in constant contact with the Russian-imposed occupation authorities in the neighboring region of Kherson, with...