Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts

• 1. A Ceremony in Moscow

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  On the 30th of September 2022, Russia declared the annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.

  The signing ceremony was held in Moscow. Vladimir Putin signed alongside Leonid Pasechnik of Luhansk, Denis Pushilin of Donetsk, Yevgeny Balitsky of Zaporizhzhia, and Volodymyr Saldo of Kherson.

  Roughly 90,000 square kilometers of territory was being claimed, about 15% of Ukraine's total area. That made it the largest attempted annexation in Europe since World War II.

  Not one of the four oblasts was fully under Russian military control at the moment of signing. The boundaries of the claimed territory had not been legally defined. The annexation documents referred to territory in circular terms, pointing to borders to be established on future dates that had not yet come.

  Three questions hung over the ceremony. Which nations would recognize this act? What would Ukraine do? And could Russia actually hold the land it claimed?

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• 2. Votes Under Fire

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  Voting was held between the 23rd and the 27th of September, just days before the signing ceremony. Russian occupation authorities organized the referendums in territories where active fighting was still ongoing. Much of the civilian population had already fled those areas.

  In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian officials claimed 93.11% of voters had supported joining Russia.

  Pro-Russian separatists had controlled most of Luhansk Oblast and parts of Donetsk Oblast since 2014. That year, Russia had also occupied and annexed Crimea. All four oblasts had voted overwhelmingly for Ukrainian independence in the 1991 referendum that established the country. The Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic had existed as unrecognized breakaway territories for years before the full-scale invasion.

  Kherson and Zaporizhzhia had a different trajectory. Russian forces entered them in the first weeks of the February 2022 invasion. They had been under occupation for only months when the referendums were announced.

  On the 29th of September, an unusual step preceded the final annexation for the two western oblasts. The Russian military-civilian administrations of both Kherson and Zaporizhzhia declared their regions independent states. Russia then formally recognized both as independent countries. Hours later, they were absorbed into Russia.

  The United Nations Security Council met that same day to vote on a resolution condemning the annexation.

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• 3. Putin's Parliament Address

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  Putin spoke from the St. George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace. He invoked Article 1 of the United Nations Charter to frame the annexation as an act of self-determination. It was, he said, the "will of millions of people" in those regions to become Russian citizens "forever."

  Putin described the colonial past of the Western world, condemning what he called its "totalitarianism, despotism and apartheid." He said the West intended to destroy Russia as a nation. He accused "the ruling circles of the so-called West" of being "the enemy," threatening religion and morality. He also accused them of Satanism.

  Putin blamed the recent Nord Stream gas pipeline leaks on the "Anglo-Saxons." He then cited the American atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as having "set a precedent."

  Three days later, the lower house of the Russian parliament convened to ratify what had been signed.

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• 4. A Vote and a Void

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  Russia's State Duma ratified all four annexations unanimously on the 3rd of October. But the vote came with an anomaly: each annexation received more "yes" votes than there were lawmakers physically present in the chamber.

  Vyacheslav Volodin, the Duma's chairman, attributed the discrepancies to a "technical failure." The Federation Council approved the annexations not long after. Putin then signed them into law. The annexation was carried out in violation of Russian law itself.

  Peskov, Putin's spokesperson, offered what he called clarification on the border question that same day. He said Donetsk and Luhansk would follow their 2014 borders. For Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, he said the lines would be settled through future consultations with residents.

  Oleg Tsaryov, a former Ukrainian parliamentarian who had become a Russian collaborator, publicly disputed the 2014 borders claim. He stated that "there is no 2014 borders" for the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics. The objection came from within the Russian-aligned camp itself.

  Russia controlled approximately 60% of Donetsk Oblast at the moment of annexation. It held most of Luhansk Oblast, almost all of Kherson Oblast, and about 70% of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Russian authorities also claimed portions of Mykolaiv Oblast would be incorporated into the new Russian Kherson region. Mykolaiv had not been part of the annexation declaration.

  The United Nations General Assembly was already drafting a resolution of its own.

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• 5. 143 Against 5

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  A United Nations Security Council session voted ten to one to condemn Russia's annexation. Russia's single veto blocked the resolution. Brazil, China, Gabon, and India abstained.

  On the 12th of October, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution ES-11/4. Its full title was "Territorial integrity of Ukraine: defending the principles of the Charter of the United Nations." The vote stood at 143 nations in favor, 5 against, and 35 abstaining.

  Condemning what it called the "illegal so-called referendums" and the "attempted illegal annexation," the resolution demanded Russia reverse course immediately. It also called for a full withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.

  Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN's Under Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, described the legal position plainly. She said that actions designed to give "a veneer of legitimacy" to territorial acquisition by force "cannot be regarded as legal under international law."

  Only two governments recognized Russia's annexation of the four regions: North Korea and, at the time, Ba'athist Syria.

  A YouGov poll in February 2023 found that 63% of Swedish respondents wanted to support Ukraine until all occupied territories were free. A Gallup survey in June 2023 found 62% of Americans in favor of helping Ukraine reclaim its captured territory, even if the war lasted longer. Thirty-two percent preferred ending the conflict quickly, even if Russia kept what it had taken.

  Ukraine's own president had already drawn a direct line between the annexation and his country's relationship with NATO.

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• 6. No Negotiations

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  On the 7th of August 2022, Zelenskyy had issued a public warning. He said that if Russia proceeded with "pseudo-referendums," it would "close for themselves any chance of talks with Ukraine and the free world." The warning was not heeded.

  Zelenskyy, after the annexation ceremony, declared that Ukraine would not negotiate with Russia as long as Putin remained president. He also requested "fast-track" NATO membership for Ukraine.

  Between the 13th and the 18th of May 2022, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology surveyed Ukrainians on whether they supported any territorial concessions. Eighty-two percent were opposed, even if it meant the war continued longer. A follow-up survey by the same institute in September 2022 put that figure at 87%.

  Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Zelenskyy, called the annexation ceremony a "Kremlin freak show." He said the Russian plans "do not make legal sense."

  Ukrainian forces had already recaptured several towns in Donetsk Oblast within hours of the signing, as part of the Kharkiv counteroffensive.

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• 7. The Price of the Claim

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  Starting the 1st of October, anyone wishing to cross from Russian-controlled territory into Ukrainian-held areas had to apply for an exit visa. Getting permission could take up to two weeks. It required clearances from multiple Russian security agencies. Observers began describing the arrangement as "a new Iron Curtain."

  On the 19th of October, Putin signed a decree imposing martial law in the annexed regions. The decree allowed for bans on public gatherings and broad restrictions on personal liberty.

  Newsweek reported in September 2022 that reconstruction of the annexed territories could cost between $100 billion and $200 billion. The Kremlin's state budget, published on the 29th of September, had allocated 3.3 billion roubles, roughly $59 million, to rebuilding the regions.

  On the 11th of November 2022, Ukrainian forces retook the city of Kherson. The city had been declared Russian territory, but Ukraine had taken it back.

  In July 2024, Roland Walker, Chief of the General Staff of the British Army, gave a public assessment of the military outlook. He said Russia, at its current pace of fighting, would need five years to fully control all four regions. He estimated the cost at more than 1.5 million Russian casualties. Walker said there were "no winners" in the invasion, calling it "an utter devastation for both sides and lost generations."

  By March 2026, reports emerged of Russian government plans to relocate 114,000 Russian citizens into the annexed territory by the year 2045. The plans also included infrastructure and tourism investments in the claimed regions.

  In December 2022, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that any peace plan could only proceed from Ukraine's recognition of Russia's annexation. Putin repeated that condition in January 2023.

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