Russia plans to annex Ukrainian territories under its control, officials say 

Russia is moving towards annexing parts of Ukraine that are under its control, a Top U.S. national security official said on Tuesday. 

“Russia is beginning to roll out a version of what you could call an annexation playbook,” John Kirby said at a White House press briefing, drawing a comparison to Russia’s annexation of Crimea eight years ago. 

Kirby said there is “ample evidence in the intelligence and in the public domain” of Russia’s efforts to proceed with annexation, including installing proxy officials that will likely call for “sham votes” on joining Russia and forcing residents to apply for Russian citizenship. 

Russia made similar moves when it annexed Crimea in 2014. After Russian forces invaded the region, proxy officials installed by the Kremlin called for a referendum on succession. The so-called referendum had the purported support of 97 % of voters, drawing international criticism.  

The areas that might be included in Russia’s annexation plan include Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk. 

Additionally, various sources, including the State Department and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, have claimed that Russia is already forcing some residents of these regions to apply for a Russian passport. In the process, Russian authorities have also confiscated their Ukrainian passports. 

Kirby said that the pattern to annex the areas was particularly evident in Kherson, one of the first cities to fall. The Kremlin installed former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Yeliseyev as a proxy. He has “absolutely no connection to Ukraine,” Kirby added. 

Under Yeliseyev’s command, “Russia is taking control of broadcasting towers, establishing loyalist security forces, replacing telecommunications infrastructure, forcing residents to apply for Russian citizenship and issuing Russian passports,” Kirby added.