Your trusted source

Just after midnight on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed two decrees recognizing Kherson and Zaporozhye as regions independent of Ukraine, Sputnik International reported.

"In accordance with the generally accepted principles and norms of international law, recognizing and confirming the principle of equality and self-determination of peoples enshrines in the Charter of the United Nations, and taking into account the will of the people of the Kherson region at the referendum, which took place on September 27, 2022, I hereby decree: to recognize the sovereignty and independence of the Kherson region," the signed decree read.

Referenda in the two territories, which Russia has controlled since early in its special operation in Ukraine, were held from September 23 through 27 to determine their status, following requests from local administrators. The votes showed that 87.05% of voters in Kherson region and 93.11% in Zaporozhye region wanted to join the Russian Federation, just as nearby Crimea did in 2014, following the US-backed nationalist coup in Kiev.

Putin's decree recognizes the declarations of the Kherson and Zaporozhye governments to be independent states. However, the question of annexation is expected to be taken up by the Russian government early next month.