Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a document early Friday (30 a.m. local time) recognizing the independence of Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.
“I order to recognize the sovereignty of the state and the independence” of the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, Putin said in these decrees.
Putin took the same step in late February this year when he signed the independence of the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Days after the two Ukrainian territories were officially declared free, the Russian government ordered the invasion of the neighboring country, which Russians still refer to as a special military operation.
In the next few hours, Putin is expected to sign another document, this time a letter in which he will certify the annexation of Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as Kherson and Zaporizhia. These four regions, which Russia will join, represent about 15% of Ukraine’s territory.
The annexation is made possible by a referendum in these four regions, which shows that the local population allegedly wants these areas to be controlled by Russia.
International organizations like the UN, NATO and the European Union, as well as countries like the United States, have already stated that they will not recognize Russia’s new borders.