On 30 September 2022, Russia, amid an ongoing invasion of Ukraine, unilaterally declared its annexation of areas in and around four Ukrainian oblasts—Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. Most of Luhansk Oblast and part of Donetsk Oblast had been controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014, while the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts were invaded by Russia in 2022. The boundaries of the areas to be annexed and their borders were not defined; Russian officials stated that they would be defined later. None of the oblasts were fully under Russian control at the time of the declaration, nor since. If limited to the areas then under Russian control (about 90,000 km or 15% of Ukraine's territory, roughly the size of Portugal) the annexation would still be the largest in Europe since World War II.
The annexation is unrecognized by the international community, with the exception of North Korea and Syria. Ukraine, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations all said that the referendums and the annexation had no legal basis or effect. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in response that Ukraine would apply to joinNATO on an expedited basis. On 19 October Russia introduced martial law within the annexed and controlled areas, with legislation allowing for bans on public gatherings and other widespread restrictions on personal liberty.
Vast regions to the north of the Black Sea were sparsely populated and were known as the Wild Fields (as translated from Polish or Ukrainian). In the 15th century, the entire area of the northern coast of the Black Sea came under the control of the Crimean Khanate, which became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire. The Russian Empire gradually gained control over the area in the 18th century, signing peace treaties with the Cossack Hetmanate and with the Ottoman Empire after the Russo-Turkish Wars. The name Novorossiya entered official usage in 1764. It was further expanded by annexing the Ukrainian Cossack Zaporozhian Sich in 1775.
On 21 February 2022, Russia officially recognized the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic and, three days later, started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, during which they occupied territory in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, with formal military occupations beginning in the first week. On 23 February, Putin in a televised address announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine, launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In his speech, Putin claimed that Russia has no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory, adding: "We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force".
On 27 September, Russian officials claimed that the accession "referendum" in Zaporizhzhia Oblast passed, with 93.11% of voters in favor of joining Russia.
Proclamations of independence of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia
Following the annexation referendums in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the Russian military-civilian administrations of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia proclaimed independence as an intermediate step for Russian annexation. The day after the referendums were held, the KMCA proclaimed the independence of the 'Kherson region'. The ZMCA did the same for Zaporizhzhia, proclaiming independence for the 'Zaporozhye region'.
On 29 September, Russia recognized Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions as independent countries, hours before annexing them.
Annexation proceedings and borders
Ukrainian regions wholly or largely claimed by Russia since 2014 (Crimea) and 2022 (others). Parts of Mykolaiv Oblast claimed to have been annexed into Kherson Oblast are included; part of Kharkiv Oblast under Russian control at the time are not included.
On 30 September, Putin signed accession treaties with the four pro-Russian leaders of the regions, Leonid Pasechnik, Head of the Luhansk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, Head of the Donetsk People's Republic, Yevgeny Balitsky, governor of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Volodymyr Saldo, governor of the Kherson Oblast. The exact boundaries of the territories declared annexed were, however, not legally defined, with the drafts of final annexation documents recursively referring to territories "on the day of the admission to the Russian Federation" and on the day of "the formation of a new constituent entity within the Russian Federation", both being prospective future events.
At the time of the annexation proceedings in early October, Russian authorities stated that the Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic (collectively called the Donbas) would maintain their 2014 borders. They also stated that elsewhere, the new Russian border is not clearly defined, and would be defined in consultation with local residents. It was also stated that Russian-held parts of Mykolaiv Oblast would be incorporated into Russian-controlled Kherson Province.
Russia did not hold the entirety of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts; at the time, it held about 60% of Donetsk Oblast, most of Luhansk Oblast, almost all of Kherson Oblast, and about 70% of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. It held almost none of Mykolaiv Oblast, and had recently lost all but a small part of the areas it had controlled in Kharkiv Oblast; Ukrainian intelligence claimed documents showing that a planned annexation referendum in Kharkiv Oblast had been cancelled as a result of these losses.
It was not clear whether Russia was claiming those portions of the named oblasts which it does not hold under military control. Russian authorities did state that all of the Donetsk region would be treated as part of Russia, and that the portion not under Russian control would be "liberated". The areas which were controlled by Russia at the time amount to about 15% of Ukraine's total area, more than 90,000 km (35,000 sq mi)—roughly the size of Hungary or Portugal.
On 3 October, Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics will be annexed in "their 2014 borders", while as for the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts Russia will "continue consultations with the residents as to their borders". These comments caused confusion and polemics among supporters of the annexation in Russia, with former Ukrainian parliamentarian and Russian collaborator Oleg Tsaryov arguing "there is no 2014 borders" of DNR and LNR.
Russia's State Duma unanimously rubber stamped the annexations on 3 October. The annexation of each oblast received more "yes" votes than there were lawmakers present. Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin blamed the discrepancies on a "technical failure". The Federation Council approved the annexations not long afterwards and President Putin signed them into law. The annexation was carried out also in violation of Russian law.
Consequences
Regions of Ukraine annexed by Russia in 2014 and 2022, with a red line marking the area of actual control by Russia on 30 September 2022
On 1 October, Russia began requiring Ukrainians wishing to cross into Ukrainian-held areas to fill out exit visas and get permission in advance. The number of people arriving from areas of Russian control slowed to a trickle, with talk of a "new Iron Curtain". Getting permission to leave can take up to two weeks and requires clearances from various Russian security agencies.
Some estimates suggest that the reconstruction of the annexed territories would cost Russia between $100 and $200 billion. A state budget published on 29 September by the Kremlin revealed that 3.3 billion roubles (about US$59 million) had been set aside to rebuild the regions.
In December 2022, Peskov said that any peace plans to end the Russo-Ukrainian War can only proceed from Ukraine's recognition of Russia's annexation of occupied regions in September 2022. In January 2023, Putin cited recognition of Russia's sovereignty over the annexed territories as a condition for peace talks with Ukraine.
In July 2024, Chief of the General Staff of the British Army Roland Walker said that with the current way of fighting, it would take Russia five years to fully control the four annexed regions, and it would cost Russia more than 1.5 million casualties. He said there were "no winners" in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, adding that "it is an utter devastation for both sides and lost generations."
Within the speech, Putin spoke about the colonial past of the Western world, denouncing its "totalitarianism, despotism and apartheid", and accused it of attempting to create a neo-colonial and unipolarworld order. He said that the West intended to destroy Russia as a nation, and called "the ruling circles of the so-called West" "the enemy" threatening religion and morality, accusing the West of Satanism.
According to Reuters, if Russia "formally annexed a vast additional chunk of Ukraine, Putin would essentially be daring the United States and its European allies to risk a direct military confrontation", and would certainly escalate the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
The UN's Under Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo rejected the referendum and said, "Unilateral actions aimed to provide a veneer of legitimacy to the attempted acquisition by force by one State of another State's territory while claiming to represent the will of the people, cannot be regarded as legal under international law".
A United Nations Security Council meeting was held on 30 September 2022, to vote on a resolution to condemn Russia for annexing these territories, resulting in ten yes votes, one no vote, and four abstentions. The resolution failed because Russia vetoed it. Brazil, China, Gabon and India abstained from the vote.
On 12 October 2022, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution ES-11/4, titled "Territorial integrity of Ukraine: defending the principles of the Charter of the United Nations", with 143 nations voting in favor, 5 against and 35 abstaining. It condemned the "illegal so-called referendums" and the "attempted illegal annexation" and demanded that Russia immediately reverse its decisions and withdraw its forces from Ukraine.
Only North Korea and Syria have recognized the Russian annexation of four partially occupied regions of Ukraine.
A YouGov poll showed that in February 2023, 63% of respondents in Sweden wanted to support Ukraine in a war with Russia until Russian troops leave all occupied territories. A Gallup poll conducted in June 2023 found that 62% of respondents in the United States wanted to support Ukraine in regaining territory that Russia had captured, even if it meant prolonging the war between Russia and Ukraine, while 32% wanted to end the war as quickly as possible, even if it meant allowing Russia to keep the territory it conquered in southeastern Ukraine.
On 7 August 2022, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that "if the occupiers proceed along the path of pseudo-referendums they will close for themselves any chance of talks with Ukraine and the free world, which the Russian side will clearly need at some point." After the ceremony of annexation, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would not negotiate with Russia "as long as Putin is president", and requested a "fast-track" NATO membership in response.
In the poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) between 13 and 18 May 2022, 82% of Ukrainians said they did not support any territorial concessions to Russia, even if that meant prolonging the war. Another KIIS poll conducted in September 2022 found that 87% of Ukrainians opposed any territorial concessions to Russia.
On 29 September, Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Zelenskyy, said that the Russian plans to annex parts of Ukraine "do not make legal sense" and that the annexation ceremony was a "Kremlin freak show".
The Ukrainian Kherson and Kharkiv counteroffensives allowed Ukraine to recapture parts of its territory, including the city of Kherson on 11 November.
^Yes: France, United Kingdom, United States, Albania, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Norway, United Arab Emirates Abstention: Brazil, China, Gabon, India No: Russia
^Walker, Shaun (23 September 2022). "'Referendums' on joining Russia under way in occupied Ukraine". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022. So-called "referendums" are under way in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russian troops, with residents told to vote on proposals for the four Ukrainian regions to declare independence and then join Russia.
^ "Определены границы новых регионов России". Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022. The boundaries of the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic are determined by the boundaries of the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic as established by the Constitution of the Donetsk People's Republic on the day of its formation and on the day of the admission to the Russian Federation of the Donetsk People's Republic and the formation of a new constituent entity within the Russian Federation.
^Kirby, Paul (30 September 2022). "What Russian annexation means for Ukraine's regions". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 November 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022. Even Mr Peskov was unable to define where Russia would draw its new borders in occupied southern Ukraine. However, he said Russia would treat all of the Donetsk region as part of Russia. As for those parts not under occupation, he said those would have to be "liberated".
^Taking oblast areas, in thousands of km, from the Wikipedia articles on the respective oblasts, and the rough percentage of each oblast held, as described in this section, 0.7*27.183+28.461+0.6*26.517+26.684=90.083 thousand square kilometers
