Three big issues in Ukraine were set for a nationwide referendum May 25, but the majority of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, voted against the referendum Tuesday.
The three issues pressing in Ukraine that were to be addressed in the referendum were territorial integrity, the status of the Russian language in Ukraine, and decentralization of power.
The bill to hold the referendum was proposed on Monday. The vote against the referendum was not a landslide; 154 members voted in favor of the referendum.
Parliamentarian Alexander Briginec called the proposed referendum “populism,” and wrote, “The referendum should be held, but not during the war.”
Pro-Russian groups have occupied buildings throughout Southeastern Ukraine since March. Earlier this month, the Ukrainian parliament passed law to crack down on separatists, providing maximum sentences of 12 years for actions that purpose territorial changes.
Dozens of people have so far died in the clashes between pro-Russian forces and nationalist Ukrainian forces in Southeastern Ukraine.
By Day Blakely Donaldson
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