After the annexation of the four Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Cherson by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian parliament has now ratified the incorporation, which has been criticized as a violation of international law. More than 400 MPs voted unanimously on Monday for the regions to be included in the Russian Federation. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that the regions are now under the country’s special protection.
On Friday, Kremlin chief Putin signed internationally unrecognized accession agreements with the occupiers deployed by Moscow. The Duma still had to approve it. Subsequent approval by the Federation Council is considered a formality.
The annexation, which violates international law, will only be completed with the adoption of numerous laws for the integration of the areas, which are also planned for Monday, including the automatic granting of Russian citizenship. The Federation Council must also approve these laws. Then Putin still has to sign the incorporation laws. A transition period until 2026 is planned until the laws are fully implemented.
Lavrov compares the United States to Nazi Germany
During his appearance in the Russian State Duma, Foreign Minister Lavrov accused the United States of pursuing anti-Russian policies, similar to those pursued by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler against the Soviet Union. “The United States has practically subdued the entire collective West and mobilized it to turn Ukraine into an instrument of war with Russia – just as Hitler then armed the majority of European countries for an attack on the Soviet Union,” Lavrov said .
Lavrov accused Ukraine of curtailing people’s rights to their Russian language, their faith and their own culture. The chief diplomat defended the annexation as a means of protecting the Russian-speaking population from discrimination by a “Nazi regime” in Kyiv.
Putin had repeatedly emphasized that the regions would receive the full protection of the nuclear power. According to this, possible attacks by Ukraine against the four areas after the completion of the annexation should be counted as an attack on Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the Luhansk and Donetsk regions would become part of Russia entirely within their Ukrainian administrative borders. So far, Russian troops control just over 50 percent of the Donetsk region.
In the case of the Cherson and Zaporizhia regions, according to Peskov, a decision will be made later into which borders they will be integrated. Ukrainian forces are advancing in all regions. Regarding Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed once again in Kyiv, Peskov said that Russia is observing this, but so far has not seen a majority of states. The Kremlin spokesman also said that Ukraine’s planned entry into NATO is a reason for the war that Russia started on February 24. (apa/dpa)