'Referendum' won't be held in Donetsk, Luhansk regions: invading Russian forces need to fully control territory to hold it - analyst

He shared the details with Espreso TV. 

"There will definitely not be a 'referendum' in the Russia-occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, because in order to hold a 'referendum' they need to fully control the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions within the administrative boundaries", Harmash emphasized.

The analyst recalled that Putin recognized the so-called DPR and LPR precisely within the administrative boundaries.

"So, as long as they do not control these territories, they cannot hold a 'referendum'. This will mean holding a 'referendum' on part of the territories, not on all territories", Harmash said.