The decrees say that Russia «recognises independence» of Ukraine’s southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, which Russia partly invaded earlier this year, as reported by the Ukrainian news media, The Kyiv Independent.
The move follows Russia’s sham referendums that it staged in the occupied territories on 23–27 September, claiming to ask locals if they wanted the territories to «join Russia.»
According to Russian officials, after the pseudo–referendum in the four regions on Tuesday, 27 September, it was announced that the votes ranged from 87% to 99.2% in favour of joining Russia. The head of the upper house of the Russian parliament said the chamber could consider annexation on 4 October, as reported earlier by BNN.
In this way, Russia seeks to solidify its control over the invaded Ukrainian territories. The pseudo–referendums followed the recent successful counter–offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said earlier that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be signing the «documents» to formally annex Ukraine’s occupied territories on Friday, 30 September, a move condemned by Ukraine and its Western allies as illegitimate and void.
Back in February, Putin declared the «independence» of Russian proxies in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which was seen as a major escalation in the eight–year–old war. Days later, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.