The Pentagon says that statements by separatist leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics regarding the organization of referendums on joining the Russian Federation are a distraction after Ukraine’s successful counteroffensive, reports CNN.
“This is simply an intelligence operation designed to divert attention from the dire state in which the Russian military is now,” Pentagon spokesman Gen. Pat Ryder said at a briefing on Tuesday.
Ryder called these calls for referendums part of Russia’s “team game.”
“I saw them do it in 2014 and it goes something like this: first we have their appointed officials, as we’re seeing in the press now, who say they’re going to have a public consultation, and then they use that as a basis for attempts to declare legitimacy in the annexation of the sovereign territory of Ukraine,” General Pat Ryder explained.
He also said that the referendums would not have credibility, nor would they affect US support for Ukraine.
“No one will take these fake referendums with confidence, and the US will certainly not recognize the results of any rigged election,” Ryder said. “We will continue to work with Ukraine and our international partners to provide them with the necessary support.”
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Source: Hot News RO
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