Russia Brought 700 Film Extras To Melitopol To Film Propaganda Video On 'Referendum'

Russian collaborators allegedly had to bring hundreds of film extras to an event in the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol this week because they were unable to gather enough support from the locals, according to a Ukrainian official.

They brought 700 people into Melitopol from other temporarily occupied areas in the Zaporizhzhia region to attend a forum held at the Melitopol Palace of Culture Monday, Ivan Fedorov, the city's mayor, claimed in a statement posted on Telegram.

It was announced during the forum that a "referendum" would be held in the future, and the crowd was there for a propaganda video filmed by the Russian collaborators for Russian media "to curry favor with their big brother in the Kremlin," Fedorov claimed.

The collaborators were unable to get enough local residents together for the forum, the Ukrainian official alleged.

The announcement of the referendum, which would decide on Zaporizhzhia's "ascension" to Russia, was made by Russian collaborator Yevhen Balytskyi, according to Fedorov.

Balytskyi is the current head of the region's temporary administration, a position the mayor claimed Balytskyi "invented." Despite having received less than 10% of the votes in the last election, Balytskyi ordered the preparation of a referendum regarding Zaporizhzhia's fate.

"[H]e is deciding the fate of the temporarily occupied territories by signing confusing orders expressing a desperate desire to become a part of the Russian Federation. In any case, his orders have no legal value," Fedorov said, according to a translation provided by Pravda.

Russia allegedly plans to annex Zaporizhzhia as well as the occupied regions of Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk via referendums by September, unnamed individuals familiar with the strategy told Bloomberg.

Previous referendums in Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk were marked by election fraud, pre-marked ballots and intimidation.

However, Russia may have realized that its plans to hold referendums will not push through, according to Fedorov.

A poll conducted in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in July found that only 30% of respondents supported the idea of the regions joining Russia, while the rest "hesitated to answer," independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported.

"Such support is, of course, not enough for a real referendum," an anonymous interlocutor close to Russia's presidential administration who was familiar with the results of the poll told the outlet.

Despite the small number of supporters, the Russian government reportedly still believes that any referendums will be held "properly," an unnamed source told Meduza.