Is Russia set to establish a permanent military base in Ukraine's Kherson region?
The Russian-controlled administration in southern Ukraine's Kherson region has once again reiterated its intention of joining Russia and also urged Moscow to establish its permanent military base to guarantee full security. Kirill Stremousov, Deputy Head of the military-civilian administration of the region, has said Kherson will not "rush to a referendum" since its results "will not be recognised by Western countries anyway". The integration into the Russian Federation, he told the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti on Tuesday, would be gradual after establishing a peaceful life on the territory. The Russian language will also be given the status of a state language along with Ukrainian in the due course. "According to our plan for integration into the Russian Federation, we must complete the process of transition to all standards of Russian legislation by the end of the year, and only then we can decide on a referendum and our future status,"