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Annexation on paper, shelling and retreat on the ground
Summary
A look back at the days around 6 October 2022, when Moscow's legal claims over four Ukrainian regions met events on the front line and in Zaporizhzhia.
What did Russia's formal annexation of four Ukrainian regions change on the ground by 6 October 2022? The events of those days suggest the answer was very little.
A legal act without control
On 4 October 2022, the Federation Council of Russia unanimously approved the annexation of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. The documents then awaited final signing by President Vladimir Putin. 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.
The legal sequence moved quickly, yet the military picture in the south moved in a different direction. On 4 October 2022, Ukraine's 35th Marine Brigade recaptured the village of Davydiv Brid in Beryslav Raion, Kherson Oblast, as the ground offensive continued. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said around 3,500 citizens had been freed from Russian occupation in recent days.
On 5 October 2022, the day of Putin's signature, Ukrainian troops recaptured the strategic village of Dudchany on the west bank of the Dnieper after Russian forces withdrew. A territory declared Russian by law was thus losing settlements to Ukrainian forces within the same days.
Civilians under fire
On 6 October 2022, Russian forces shelled residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, one of the four regions named in the annexation law. At least three people were killed and twelve injured, and widespread fires broke out. The attack hit homes in a place that Moscow had just claimed as its own.
A domestic footnote
Kyiv was also dealing with questions at home. On 5 October 2022, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Ukraine fired his deputy, Bohdan Lvov, for holding dual Russian and Ukrainian citizenship.
What the sequence shows
Set side by side, these events show a gap between declaration and reality. The annexation law was signed on 5 October 2022, the same day Ukrainian forces retook Dudchany. The next day brought shelling that killed civilians in Zaporizhzhia. The law fixed a claim on paper, while the front line and the safety of residents were still being decided by military action.
