Medvedev says referendums for Donbass to join Russia ‘need to be held’ - TASS

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday said the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics need to hold referendums to join Russia.

"The referendums in Donbass are of great importance not only for the systemic protection of residents of the DPR, LPR and other liberated territories, but also for the restoration of historical justice," the official said on Telegram.

According to him, the referendums in the DPR and LPR would "completely change the vector of Russia's development for decades."

They would also affect global affairs, Medvedev said.

"After holding [the referendums] and incorporating new territories into Russia, the geopolitical transformation in the world will become irreversible," he said.

Medvedev also said that "encroachment on the territory of Russia is a crime, the commission of which allows the use of all the forces of self-defense."

"After amending the constitution of our country, not a single future leader of Russia, not a single official will be able to reverse these decisions (about the Donbass republics joining Russia - TASS)," the official said.

"That’s why these referendums are so feared in Kiev and in the West. That’s why they need to be held," he said.