Kherson occupation authorities planning for annexation referendum on November 4

The Russian-backed occupation authorities in Ukraine’s Kherson region reported Wednesday that they will prepare to hold referendums on the territory's incorporation into Russia on November 4, when Russia celebrates Unity Day.

Earlier, Andrey Turchak, the leader of Russia’s ruling United Russia party, suggested that the date would be an appropriate one for referendums in all of Ukraine’s occupied territories. “This is a historic date and one that unites us all. [...] Holding the referendums on this day would be right and symbolic,” he said.

• Turchak's statement marks the first time such a high-ranking Russian official has named a prospective date for the referendums.
• As Meduza reported earlier, the Russian authorities have considered holding referendums in the occupied territories in two stages: first in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, then in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics.”