The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

Russian proxy in Ukraine claims occupied territories may be incorporated into new Russian federal district

by Nate Ostiller June 6, 2024 7:46 PM 2 min read
Yevhen Balytskyi, a Russian proxy leader operating in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, in Moscow on Aug. 23, 2023. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

The Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine may soon be formed into a new federal district, the state-run media outlet RIA Novosti reported on June 6, citing Yevhen Balytskyi, a Russian proxy leader operating in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Russia illegally annexed Crimea and occupied parts of Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014. After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow seized parts of Ukraine’s Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

The sham referendums Russia organized to implement the annexation of Ukrainian oblasts in 2022 have been widely condemned by the UN, EU, NATO, and 143 countries.

Balytskyi, a Ukrainian from Melitopol who previously served as a member of Ukraine's parliament from 2012 to 2019, claimed that the creation of the new district, consisting of the five oblasts, is being "studied at the federal level."

10 years of war: A timeline of Russia’s decade-long aggression against Ukraine
Almost immediately following the end of the EuroMaidan Revolution in Ukraine in February 2014, Russia swiftly moved to annex and occupy the Crimean Peninsula. Within a couple of months, unrest erupted in eastern Ukraine followed by Russian-backed militias taking over administrative buildings. The…

Balytskyi added that it could be called Novorossiya, referring to an aborted project conceived of by Russian proxies in 2014 to create a so-called independent state consisting of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts.

Russia currently consists of eight federal districts, with the illegally annexed territories of Ukraine incorporated on paper into Russia's Southern Federal District.

Russia’s sham referendums, mobilization, nuclear threats: What it all means
Humiliated on the battlefield, the Kremlin now wants to quickly annex occupied Ukrainian territories and add them to the Russian Federation. Russian proxies in the occupied parts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts have announced that between Sept. 23 and 27, they will rush sham “…

News Feed

5:43 AM

Trump's team advises against calling Putin, NBC reports.

Trump may abruptly decide he wants to speak to Putin, but he has been advised against calling the Russian leader until Moscow communicates they agree to a full ceasefire in Ukraine, NBC News reported on April 3, citing administration officials.
8:10 PM

Ukraine receives 5,000 more Starlink terminals from Poland, minister says.

"Starlinks will help residents of the front-line territories to stay in touch: call relatives, call emergency services, read the news. Due to attacks and destruction of base stations in the de-occupied territories, regular communication is unavailable," Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.
1:54 PM

US committed to NATO membership, Rubio says.

"As we speak right now, the United States is as active in NATO as it has ever been," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a press briefing alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.