MOSCOW, October 4 – Novosti. Vladimir Zelensky issued a document on the non-recognition of the decrees of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Crimea, the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.
“Recognize as null and void, that is, those that do not give rise to any legal consequences, the decrees of the President of the Russian Federation,” reads the text of the decree on the website of Zelensky’s office.
In particular, the document lists the decrees dated March 17, 2014 on the recognition of Crimea as a sovereign independent state, on February 21, 2022 on the recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, on September 29 – on the recognition of the independence of Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. Zelensky’s decree also states that “any other decisions, acts and agreements adopted, issued and concluded on the basis of and / or in connection with the implementation of the said decrees of the President of the Russian Federation” are allegedly recognized as having no legal consequences.
The Federation Council of the Russian Federation at a meeting on Tuesday approved federal constitutional laws on the admission of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Zaporozhye and Luhansk regions to Russia.
On September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in the Kremlin following the results of referendums in the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions , after which he signed agreements with their heads on accepting the regions into Russia. Later, the Constitutional Court of Russia recognized these treaties as corresponding to the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
Crimea became a Russian region in March 2014 following a referendum following a coup d’état in Ukraine . In the referendum, 96.77% of voters in Crimea and 95.6% in Sevastopol voted for joining Russia. Ukraine still considers Crimea its temporarily occupied territory, many Western countries support Kiev on this issue. For its part, the Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that the inhabitants of Crimea voted for democratic reunification with Russia, in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter . According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the issue of the Crimea “finally closed.”
