Russia Brought 700 Film Extras To Melitopol To Pose As Locals For Propaganda Video: Ukraine

As the Pro-Russian head of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine begins preparations for the referendum to join Russia, Ukrainian authorities have claimed that Russia was bringing in film extras to pose as residents for a propaganda video.

Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, said Russia brought over 700 people to the city as extras since they couldn't get enough locals together to film a "pretty picture" for the Russian media.

In a Telegram post, Federov alleged that the occupiers realized that their plans to hold a pseudo-referendum were on the verge of collapse as even under the muzzles of Russian machine guns, no more than 10% of Melitopol residents supported Russia.

"In order to favor their big brother in the Kremlin, the collaborators decided to shoot another propaganda video for the Russian media. They brought 700 people into Melitopol from other temporarily occupied areas in Zaporizhzhia Oblast because they couldn't get enough local residents together. They held a forum in the Melitopol Palace of Culture," Federov added.

He said Yevhen Balytskyi, the Gauleiter of the Zaporizhzhia region, who at one time failed miserably in the local elections, gaining less than 10%, conducted the coven. "First he (Balytskyi) invented a position for himself. Now he 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," he added.

Federov also warned that "all the psych ward patients who went over to the Russians will certainly be cured by the Ukrainian special services."

This comes as Yevgeny Balitsky, who now heads the pro-Russia administration in the region, announced the decision to kickstart the referendum during a pro-Moscow forum entitled "We are with Russia." "I am signing the order for the central election committee to start the preparations for holding a referendum on the reunification of the Zaporizhzhia region with the Russian Federation," Balitsky said Monday.

Melitopol is the largest city controlled by Russia in Zaporizhzhia and two-thirds of the region is under Russian control, part of a swathe of southern Ukraine that Moscow captured early in the war.

Meanwhile, Ukraine President Vlodomyr Zelensky has responded to the referendums, saying that peace talks with Russia would be impossible if the country proceeded with such votes in the occupied areas. "Our country's position remains what it always has been. We will give up nothing of what is ours. If the occupiers proceed along the path of pseudo-referendums they will close for themselves any chance of talks with Ukraine and the free world, which the Russian side will clearly need at some point," he added.