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What did Russia's annexation laws change by 6 October 2022?
Summary
A look back at the legal steps that preceded 6 October 2022, when Moscow had formally claimed four Ukrainian regions.
What had Moscow actually done by 6 October 2022, and how did it get there? The answer lies in two steps taken in quick succession on the days before.
On 4 October 2022, the Federation Council of Russia unanimously approved the annexation of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. The annexation documents then awaited final signing by President Vladimir Putin.
That signing followed on 5 October 2022. Putin signed a law formally annexing the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia into Russia. With his signature, the process that the upper chamber had endorsed a day earlier was complete on the Russian side.
A short, fast sequence
The pace stands out. Approval in the Federation Council, which was unanimous, and the presidential signature came on consecutive days. By 6 October 2022, the legal act covering all four regions was already on the books in Russia.
The reports from those days describe the legislative steps themselves: the vote, the unanimity and the signing. They concern territory in southern and eastern Ukraine, and they form part of the wider Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022.
