Russia's upper house approves annexation of four Ukrainian regions

What did Russia's parliament do on 4 October 2022 to formalise the annexation of occupied Ukrainian territory? Its upper house, the Federation Council, unanimously approved the annexation of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. The documents then awaited final signing by President Vladimir Putin.

The road to the vote

The vote followed several days of fast-moving steps. On 29 September 2022, Putin signed a decree recognising the "independence" of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, which had been proclaimed the previous day. The same day, the Kremlin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said agreements on annexing the occupied territories would be signed on 30 September.

That is what happened. On 30 September 2022, Putin signed accession treaties to annex the occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia. In a speech, he announced that Russia had annexed four regions occupied during the conflict. Under Russian law, however, the treaties could not take effect until both houses of the Russian parliament ratified them. The Federation Council's vote on 4 October 2022 was part of that process.

Kyiv's response

Ukraine's reaction had begun before the vote. On 29 September 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced an urgent meeting of the National Security and Defense Council for 30 September. On 30 September, following the annexation, he requested fast-track NATO membership for Ukraine.

A parallel storyline

The same period also saw a dispute over the Nord Stream gas pipelines. On 29 September 2022, Putin described the gas leaks as an unprecedented act of international terrorism.

The unanimous Federation Council vote on 4 October 2022 marked the step after the treaty signing and before Putin's final signature on the annexation documents.