Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (5) signed the law on the annexation of four Ukrainian regions and the decrees formally appointing the rulers, which Moscow had already installed in the regions.
The texts signed by Putin provide for the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions to be incorporated into the Russian Federation in accordance with the country’s constitution.
Despite international outrage and military defeats on the battlefield, Putin has annexed the four regions partially controlled by the Russian army, believing they are legitimately returning to Russia after the hasty organization of controversial referendums.
Putin also signed decrees formally appointing the current Moscowbacked leaders in the four regions as his governing bodies.
Prior to Putin’s signature, the annexation bill was unanimously supported by the lower and upper houses of the Russian parliament.
Putin presided over a grand ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday, where he signed the annexation deals with officials from the four regions, despite criticism from Kyiv and the western powers.
The four territories form a crucial land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014.
The five regions make up nearly 20% of Ukraine, but Russian forces do not have full control of Kherson and Zaporizhia. Moscow did not say which areas of these regions were annexed.