According to Russian state media, local occupation officials in the Zaporizhzhia region are formally preparing to join the Russian Federation.

"In the issues of preparing for holding the referendum and, particularly, of the phrasing of a question it will pose, we are guided by the Federal Constitutional Law No. 6 of the Russian Federation 'On Admitting to the Russian Federation the Republic of Crimea and Establishing within the Russian Federation the New Constituent Entities of the Republic of Crimea and the City of Federal Importance Sevastopol,'” Vladimir Rogov, a member of Zaporizhzhia’s pro-Moscow military-civilian administration, told Russian state news outlet TASS. “Precisely, this federal law establishes the main conditions and the procedure of accession to the Russian Federation and the establishment of a new constituent entity within it. So, naturally, we are doing everything in such a way so that it will be standardized," Rogov added.

Russian forces occupied most of the Zaporizhzhia region, including the major cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk, in the early stages of the invasion. The city of Zaporizhzhia, which acts as the Zaporizhzhia region’s administrative center, and some surrounding northern territories remain under Ukrainian control. Local occupation officials have not clarified whether or not they intend to wait until Russian forces consolidate control over the Zaporizhzhia region before petitioning to become part of Russia.

Rogov’s statement comes on the heels of announcements by Kherson officials that they are moving forward with plans to hold a referendum on joining Russia. Top officials from the pro-Russian separatist Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), recognized by Russia as sovereign states just days before the invasion of Ukraine, have expressed interest in holding referendums of their own. It is unclear if Moscow, which has kept its cards close to its vest regarding specific annexation plans for Ukraine, is interested in formally annexing the DPR and LPR as opposed to maintaining them as proxy states.

Western and Ukrainian officials have assessed that the Kremlin is quietly laying the groundwork for a series of annexations in parts of occupied Ukraine. The pro-Russian government in Kherson reportedly took swift steps to phase out the Ukrainian hryvnia in favor of the Russian ruble and is issuing Russian passports to the local population. John Kirby, the communications director at the National Security Council, said in a press briefing earlier this month that Russia seeks to absorb occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine following the same  “annexation playbook” it used to take Crimea in 2014. Kyiv has repeatedly stressed that it will not recognize the legitimacy of any referendums held by Russia in Ukraine.

Mark Episkopos is a national security reporter for the National Interest.

Image: Reuters.