Veneer.

This is coolbert:

First it was Crimea. Then it was Donetsk and Luhansk. NOW it is Kherson?

Incorporation into Russia by the will of the voters?

"Russia eyes 'sham referendum' in Kherson, U.S. and Ukrainian officials say"

"In its bid to permanently seize control of the Ukrainian city of Kherson, Russia is looking to hold what U.S. and Ukrainian officials say is a 'sham referendum' on secession."

"By holding an election in Kherson, Russia is aiming 'to try to add a veneer of democratic or electoral legitimacy' to its rule there, Michael Carpenter, the U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said earlier this week."

"Under the pretense of providing Kherson residents welfare payments or humanitarian aid, Russian intelligence operatives are collecting personal data of Ukrainians there in order to commit ballot fraud during the potential referendum, according to Ukrainian military intelligence."

Again the pattern continues. The Russian speaking predominant in an area of the Ukraine as borders defined pre-war restive. A referendum [plebiscite?] is held with the electorate voting to unite with the Russian motherland. [I was going to say homeland but of course in the Russian context motherland more appropriate].

Transnistria Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic ( PMR ) Moldova is next?

coolbert.