Russia plans to annex more Ukrainian territory.
Russia plans to annex more Ukrainian territory “using similar games as in the case of Crimea”, the US says.
Citing US intelligence, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Russia is already laying the groundwork for annexation.
The occupied regions of Ukraine can hold “fake” referendums on joining Russia in September, he emphasized.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 after a referendum that was widely considered illegitimate.
“We want to make it clear to the American people,” Kirby told reporters. “No one is fooled by this.”
“Russian President Vladimir Putin is dusting off the 2014 playbook″.
He accused Russia of installing illegal pro-Russian officials to run the occupied regions of Ukraine in order to organize referendums on becoming part of Russia.
The results of the vote will be used by Russia “to try to claim annexation of the sovereign territory of Ukraine,” Kirby said.
Russia has already installed its own regional and local officials in the parts of Ukraine it has occupied.
Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014 after a hastily organized referendum – deemed illegal by the international community – in which voters chose to join Russia.
Kirby said he was “exposing” Russian plans “so the world knows that any alleged annexation is premeditated, illegal and illegitimate” and promised a swift response from the US and its allies.
Areas targeted for annexation include Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk, he announced.