Holding pseudo-referendums on joining the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine does not change the essence of the war. Ukraine will also continue to liberate captured settlements. Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the President's Office, said this in a comment to journalists.

 "At this stage of the war, the next "propaganda ideas" of the Russians do not play any role. And they do not change the essence of the war. We use the entire arsenal for a counteroffensive and we are not bothered by one or another "crying" of the Russian elite," he said.

 At the same time, according to Podolyak, the Russians themselves see pseudo-referendums as an asymmetric response to counterattacks - not on the battlefield, but in their own style - "now we'll start."

 He added that the Russians are already using their entire arsenal of weapons and are mobilizing. Therefore, from a military point of view, nothing changes. From a legal point of view, any initiatives of the Russians in the occupied territories are worthless.

 Therefore, the "referendums" should be perceived exclusively as a show for domestic propaganda consumption to distract the population from the failures of the Russian "special military operation". Russia does not control the occupied regions," said the adviser to the head of the OP.

 Podolyak emphasized that pseudo-referendums do not change anything for Ukraine.

 "Kherson, Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk - were and remain Ukrainians under international law. Accordingly, we will continue to de-occupy these territories by military means, no matter what flag is hoisted there," he said.