The Russian president formalized the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhya, occupied by his troops, during a ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday.
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Their annexation becomes official. Surrounded by four pro-Russian officials from the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, Russian President Vladimir Putin officially signed the “accession agreements of new territories to the Russian Federation” during a lavish ceremony at the Kremlin on Friday 30 September.
Shortly before, the Russian president had confirmed, during a speech before the country’s political elite, that these territories were now considered Russian by his country. “Today, we sign the agreement on the entry of the region of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson (…). NOTWe are going to form four new Russian regions, four new subjects of the Russian Federation, since this is the will of millions” of people, Vladimir Putin said. Their inhabitants will be “our citizens forever”.
The Russian President had also affirmed, shortly before the start of his speech, that he had to Again “clarify” whether Russia annexed all of the Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia or only the parts it occupied. The other two regions of Donetsk and Luhansk will be annexed in their entirety, Moscow having recognized the sovereignty of pro-Russian separatist regimes at the end of February, just before the Russian assault on Ukraine.
Russia had hastily organized so-called referendums, widely denounced by kyiv and its Western allies, following a Ukrainian counter-offensive that forced the Russian army to cede thousands of square kilometers of land.