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What followed Putin's annexation signing of 30 September
Summary
A look back at the days around 1 October 2022, when the annexation treaties awaited ratification and Kyiv pressed its case for NATO membership.
What did the Kremlin's annexation announcement leave unresolved on 1 October 2022? The answer lay in the sequence of the preceding days: a signing, a legal step still pending and a swift response from Kyiv.
A staged run-up
On 29 September, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said agreements on annexing the occupied territories of Ukraine were scheduled for signing on 30 September. The same day, Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognising the "independence" of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, which had been proclaimed a day earlier.
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced on 29 September that he would convene an urgent meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on 30 September.
The signing
On 30 September, Putin signed accession treaties to annex the occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia. In his speech he declared that Russia had annexed four regions occupied during the conflict.
The signing was not the end of the process under Russian law. The treaties still had to be ratified by both houses of the Russian parliament before they became effective. That was the position as 1 October 2022 began: announced and signed, but not yet formally completed.
Kyiv's response
Also on 30 September, Zelenskyy requested fast-track NATO membership for Ukraine, following the Russian annexation of Southern and Eastern Ukraine. The request tied the battlefield and the diplomatic track together, setting Ukraine's security aspirations against Moscow's declaration of new borders.
A parallel dispute
Another issue ran alongside. On 29 September, Putin described the Nord Stream gas leaks as an unprecedented act of international terrorism.
Why the date matters
By 1 October 2022, the main elements of the confrontation were visible. Russia had moved from decree to treaty, with parliamentary ratification the remaining formal step. Ukraine's leadership had met in emergency format and made its request for accelerated NATO membership. The days that followed would show how each side acted on those positions.
