Ukraine Breaks Through More Occupied Territory As Moscow Attempts To Formalize Illegal Annexation

Topline

Russian lawmakers pushed through the final procedural steps needed to annex seized Ukrainian territory on Tuesday, persisting despite Moscow not fully controlling any of the four regions it claims and as Kyiv makes major gains in the south of the country and makes its largest push in the region since the war began.

Key Facts

Russia’s upper house of parliament on Tuesday voted unanimously to ratify legislation to annex four Ukrainian regions.

Russia’s lower house voted similarly on Monday and the annexation efforts follow a series of widely criticized referendums in the regions that Kyiv and most of the international community denounced as illegitimate.

The documents now pass back to Russian President Vladimir Putin for final approval, according to Reuters, which will complete the formal annexation process.

Moscow’s efforts persist even though it does not fully control any of the four regions it seeks to claim and in the time it has taken lawmakers to formalize the annexation Ukrainian forces have made significant gains in retaking territory.

Ukrainian troops broke through Russian defenses in the south of the country on Monday—which was confirmed by both Ukrainian officials and the Russian-installed leader of the region.

The southern advance, which accompanies efforts to advance and reclaim territory in the east, is reportedly targeting supply lines that serve as many as 25,000 Russian troops, according to Reuters, who could possibly be cut off entirely if Ukraine advances further.

News Peg

Kyiv has made significant progress on the battlefield in recent weeks and handed a series of humiliating defeats to Russian leaders. It has made major inroads into occupied territory in the east, in particular reclaiming Lyman, a city and key strategic hub in the Donetsk region, forcing Russian troops to retreat a day after Putin claimed the city as Russian. On Monday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country’s military had retaken a number of towns in multiple regions.

What We Don’t Know

It is unclear precisely what territory Russia is attempting to claim as its own. It claims the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which together make up around 18% of Ukraine’s territory, though the assertion is not clear cut. Even without Kyiv’s recent gains, Moscow did not fully control all of the regions it claimed to have annexed. The Kremlin has repeatedly refused to clarify where Russia’s new self-proclaimed international borders will actually be and looks set to lose more ground as Ukrainian counteroffensives grind on. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday said Moscow was carrying out consultations in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions to determine borders.

Further Reading

Ukraine’s Counteroffensives Appear To Be Part Of A Much Bigger Plan—To Divide The Russian Army (Forbes)

Here’s What Would Happen If Putin Ordered A Nuclear Strike In Ukraine (Forbes)

In Retreat on Ukrainian Fronts, Russia Shows Signs of Disarray (NYT)