According to Russian news agencies, Russian lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously passed a law that will federally admit Ukraine’s Kherson, Zaporizhia and self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics into the Russian Federation.
Residents of the four regions were officially recognized as Russian citizens on September 30 after President Vladimir Putin held a signing ceremony in Moscow with Kremlin-appointed regional officials from the four regions.
But according to the state news agency TASS, Ukrainians living in the partially occupied territories have a month to refuse Russian citizenship, although the consequences remain unclear.
Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts will retain their “republic” status, while Kherson and Zaporizhia will be called “regions” under the new legal boundaries accepted by Moscow.
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From left: Vladimir Saldo, Moscow-appointed head of the Kherson region, Yevgeny Balitsky, Moscow-appointed head of the Zaporizhia region, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Denis Pushilin, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, and Leonid Pasechnik, leader of the self-proclaimed Die People’s Republic of Luhansk poses for a photo during a ceremony to sign agreements for four regions of Ukraine to join Russia, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Friday, September 30, 2022. (Dmitry Astakhov, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo via AP)
Moscow has stipulated that the borders of the four Ukrainian regions are now “regarded as the state borders of Russia”.
The US and the international community have condemned Putin’s illegal attempts to seize Ukrainian territory, and so far only North Korea has backed the move.
Russia’s other top allies, including China and Iran, have yet to lobby for the decision, so it’s unclear whether they will recognize the four regions as Russian.
A military vehicle drives down a street marked “Forever with Russia, September 27” ahead of a referendum in Luhansk, Luhansk People’s Republic controlled by Russian-backed separatists, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, September 22, 2022. (AP Photo )
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Repeating Putin’s talking points on Tuesday, Pyongyang claimed the “overwhelming” support garnered during last week’s referendums shows that the “will” of the Ukrainian people is to join the Russian Federation.
Moscow has also claimed the referendums are in line with the UN Charter.
But UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the annexation, saying attempts to annex a state’s territory under “the threat or use of force” were a violation of the principles of the UN Charter and international law.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday reiterated earlier warnings that Kyiv would not hold peace talks with Moscow if it seeks an annexation.
A soldier of the Donetsk People’s Republic militia stands at a checkpoint in Mariupol, on the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, May 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)
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Zelenskyy issued a decree, first introduced by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council on September 30, that spelled out the “impossibility of conducting negotiations with Russia.”
The decree also called on Ukrainian officials to reach bilateral agreements to strengthen Kiev’s defense and security alliances.
Caitlin McFall is a reporter at Fox News Digital. You can reach her at [email protected] or @ctlnmcfall on Twitter.