Moscow set to annex territory: US official

WASHINGTON • Moscow is taking steps towards annexing parts of Ukraine it controls "in direct violation of Ukraine's sovereignty", said a US national security official, including installing proxy officials expected to call "sham" votes on joining Russia and forcing people to apply for Russian citizenship.

"Russia is beginning to roll out a version of what you could call an annexation playbook," Mr John Kirby said at a White House press briefing on Tuesday, drawing parallels to Russia's seizure of Crimea eight years ago.

Mr Kirby said there was "ample evidence in the intelligence and in the public domain" of Russia's unfolding efforts, which include installing the rouble as the national currency in the areas it intends to annex, just as it did in Crimea.

Areas that may be in Russia's annexation plan, Mr Kirby said, include Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, which make up the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

In 2014, Russian forces invaded Crimea and Mr Putin annexed it after newly installed officials hastily organised a referendum on secession that was reported to have secured the support of 97 per cent of voters, drawing international accusations of fraud.

According to various sources, including the Defence Department, Russia is forcing some residents to apply for Russian passports.

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that as part of the so-called filtration operations, Russian authorities had begun confiscating Ukrainian passports and issuing Russian passports.

A report from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe last week also said Russia was forcing Ukrainian citizens to accept Russian passports.

Citing local media sources, the report said "in the newly occupied territories, the occupants are compelling Ukrainians into getting a Russian passport by torturing or paying them".

Mr Kirby said the pattern was particularly evident in Kherson, the first major Ukrainian city to fall, with the installation of Mr Sergei Yeliseyev, a former Russian intelligence officer with "absolutely no connection to Ukraine".

NYTIMES