The Russian Federation, the upper chamber of parliament, voted in favour of the annexation of the four Ukrainian regions—Lugansk and Donetsk in the east, as well as Zaporizhia, Kherson, and Kherson in the south—to Russia on Tuesday, following the widespread celebrations that Moscow witnessed a few days earlier.
Following a vote in the State Duma (the Russian lower house), yesterday, Monday, the Council unanimously approved the annexation of those regions during its session today.
While Sergey Lavrov, the minister of foreign affairs, emphasised during the meeting that this decision assures the protection and preserves the rights of the residents of those places, he also emphasised that these people do not wish to continue living under the regime’s authority.
He also attributed Kyiv’s refusal to uphold the Minsk agreements on pressure from the West.
He emphasised that the United Nations made it plain to the International Affairs Committee in that the transitional phase of the process would last until 2026, in accordance with the right to self-determination stated in the United Nations Charter.
According to a correspondent for Al-Hadath, Putin also emphasised the connections between Russia and the four countries in terms of language, culture, and history.
For the towns that make up around 18% of the recognised territory of Ukraine, it is assumed that these documents will be returned to the Kremlin for President Vladimir Putin to officially complete the annexation process.
Putin made a decision on September 30 at a ceremony on Red Square in Moscow, to the sound of enthusiastic applause from the representatives of people who signed the decrees.
However, the action drew harsh condemnation and guarantees that it wouldn’t have any international repercussions because it violates international law and because the referendums that were held in certain regions were forced by the Russian-Russian occupation.
The move also sparked a number of questions, particularly in light of the Russian confrontation, which suffered a heavy blow two days ago when it lost the significant town of Lyman in Donetsk and also somewhat retreated in some areas of Kherson.
According to the American Institute of Studies (ISW), the Russians have a 72% majority in the city. They also control a small percentage of Kherson’s territories and its capital, which bears the same name, but this percentage has slightly decreased over time.
Lavrov “protects their population” as the Russian Federation supports the annexation of Ukrainian areas.
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