LONDON, 06 May 2022, (TON): Thank you, Mr Chair. Since Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, week after week we have seen the brutality of Russia’s actions.

The Russian Federation has attempted, in vain, to legitimise its war. This includes in the southern city of Kherson, where Russia has sought to assert its control of the city and surrounding areas through installing a pro-Kremlin administration.

So far this administration has stated a return to Ukrainian control is “impossible” and announced a four-month currency transition to the Russian rouble from 1 May. These statements are likely indicative of Russian intent to exert strong political influence in Kherson over the long term.

We are further appalled by reports that Russia intends to stage a referendum in Kherson oblast, in an attempt to provide a pretext for consolidating its control over the area.

We saw this in 2014, when Russia held an illegitimate referendum on the accession of Crimea into the Russian Federation to retrospectively justify its seizure of the Peninsula.