Annexation is likely to hand a “kamikaze mission” for future Russian leaders wanting to repair relations with the West, Yuri Zhukov told Newsweek.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s victory in the Donbas referendums might be bad news for his successors, setting them up for “political suicide” if they want to undo Putin’s moves in Ukraine.
On Friday, Putin annexed four occupied Ukrainian territories—the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions—after an overwhelming majority of residents voted in referendums to join the Russian Federation. The referendums were dismissed by the international community as being illegitimate and the U.S. announced new sanctions after Putin formally recognized the vote.
“Putin is burning the bridges behind him, and committing to a course of action from which there is no return,” Zhukov said. Putin’s also tying the hands of any future Russian leader “since giving up these territories will potentially be political suicide.
