Occupied Ukrainian city fears sham Russian referendum plans

Anastasia Vizavik holds one of her six children inside a bus at the city of Bashtanka, Mykolaiv district, Ukraine, on Thursday, April 7, 2022. Vizavik and her family are fleeing the town of Chernobaievka in Kherson province, which is occupied by the Russian forces. Ever since Russian forces took the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson in early March, residents sensed the occupiers had a special plan for their town. Now, amid a crescendo of warnings from Ukraine that Russia plans to stage a sham referendum to transform the territory into a pro-Moscow "people's republic," it appears locals guessed right. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Occupied Ukrainian city fears sham Russian referendum plans