Russia recognizes the independence of Zaporizhia and Kherson

Sep. 29 () –

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed two decrees this Thursday in which he recognizes the independence of the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson, according to a statement published this Friday on the Russian legal information portal.

The legal texts allege that this decision is made “taking into account the “will of the people” and “in accordance with the principles and norms of International Law, as well as recognizing and confirming the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, enshrined in the UN Charter”.

The decrees come into force from the day they are signed, while the official ceremony will take place on Friday, September 30 at 3:00 p.m. (local time) in the Kremlin, according to the Interfax news agency.

The Russian president will meet, within the framework of the ceremony, with the leaders of the four Ukrainian regions that have traveled to Moscow for these events after holding various consultations in recent days.

The results of the referendums released by the Russian Electoral Commission, with the counts already completed in most cases, show overwhelming support for joining Russia in the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, with figures ranging between 96.75 and 98.7 percent in favor of ‘yes’.

The Ukrainian authorities and Western governments do not grant any validity to the referendums, while Moscow intends to use them to legitimize its occupation, as it did in 2014 with the Crimean peninsula. The Kremlin had already made it clear that the hypothetical annexation of the four territories, occupied in the framework of the war, would be quick.

It should be remembered that Putin recognized on February 21 the independence of the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk, self-proclaimed in 2014 with the support of Moscow and despite warnings to the contrary from Western powers.

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