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Annexation signed as Ukraine advances in Kherson
Summary
A look back at 5 October 2022, when Russia formalised its annexation law while Ukrainian troops retook ground along the Dnieper.
What did Moscow gain on paper, and what did it lose on the ground, on 5 October 2022? On that date Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law formally annexing the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia into Russia.
The signature followed the Federation Council's unanimous approval on 4 October 2022. As reported at the time, the annexation documents were then due for final signing by Putin, which he completed the next day.
Gains on the Dnieper
On the battlefield, Ukrainian troops recaptured the strategic village of Dudchany on the west bank of the Dnieper on 5 October 2022, after Russian forces withdrew. The village lies in Kherson Oblast, one of the four regions covered by the annexation law.
The advance had been building for days. On 3 October 2022, Ukrainian forces moved more than 20 kilometres (12 miles) along the Dnieper towards Dudchany in what was being called a major breakthrough. On 4 October 2022, Ukraine's 35th Marine Brigade retook the village of Davydiv Brid in Beryslav Raion, Kherson Oblast, as its ground offensive continued. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said around 3,500 citizens had been freed from Russian occupation in recent days.
Changes in Russian command
On 3 October 2022 the Russian Defence Ministry dismissed Colonel General Alexander Zhuravlyov in response to a series of military defeats in Ukraine. Major General Roman Berdnikov replaced him as commander of the Western Military District.
Taken together, the events of 3 to 5 October 2022 placed a formal Russian legal act alongside Ukrainian advances in one of the very regions it named.
