Russia is planning to formally claim wide new sections of Ukrainian territory in the southern and eastern parts of the country, a senior U.S. official said Monday.
The portions would include the city of Kherson in the south, as well as the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east, the U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Michael Carpenter, told reporters at the State Department. He said the United States had “highly credible” intelligence indicating Moscow would attempt to stage fraudulent, pro-Russian referendums there in the coming weeks — after which it would install friendly local leaders.