On 24 February 2022Russia invaded Ukraine and took large areas of southern and eastern Ukraine. As early as March leaders in the unrecognizedLuhansk People's Republic[5] andDonetsk People's Republic[6] both said their wish to join Russia, originally once Russia captured all their claimed territory. However, after quick Ukrainian gains in the east in September, Russia and the unrecognized republics rushed a series ofreferendums on annexation to Russia. The referendum results claimed a large majority supported annexation.[7] On 30 September 2022, Putin formally announced the annexation of the two republics.[8] However, the referendums were recognized internationally as a sham while theEuropean Union andG7 said they were illegal.[9]United Nations Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres condemned the annexations as a violation of theUN Charter.[10]
Kherson Oblast, another region annexed by Russia, was originally thought to be upgrading itself to a "people's republic", according to United States intelligence.[11] However, it never happened, and by the time of the referendums in late September 2022, Kherson's status in Russia stayed unmentioned. When Kherson was annexed, along with neighbouringZaporizhzhia Oblast, they becameoblasts instead of republics.
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Ross, Cameron (2002).Regional Politics in Russia. Manchester University Press. p. 207.ISBN0-7190-5890-2.
René, De La Pedraja (2018).The Russian Military Resurgence: Post-Soviet Decline and Rebuilding, 1992-2018. McFarland & Company. pp. 147–148.ISBN978-1-47666-991-5.
Boex, Jameson; Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge (2001).Russia's Transition to a New Federalism. International Bank for Reconstruction. p. 4.ISBN0-8213-4840-X.
Clark, Terry; Kempton, Daniel (2002).Unity or Separation: Center-Periphery Relations in the Former Soviet Union. Praeger. p. 77.ISBN0-275-97306-9.
Sergunin, Alexander (2016).Explaining Russian Foreign Policy Behavior: Theory and Practice. Ibidem. p. 185.ISBN978-3-8382-6782-1.
Kempton, Daniel; Clark, Terry (2002).Unity or Separation: Center-Periphery Relations in the Former Soviet Union. Praeger. pp. 39–40.ISBN0-275-97306-9.
Wegren, Stephen (2015).Putin's Russia: Past Imperfect, Future Uncertain. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 68.ISBN978-1-4422-3919-7.
Lussier, Danielle; Orttung, Robert; Paretskaya, Anna (2000).The Republics and Regions of the Russian Federation: A Guide to Politics, Policies, and Leaders. EastWest Institute. pp. 523–524.ISBN0-7656-0559-7.
Joshau, Woods; Shlapentokh, Vladimir (2007).Contemporary Russia as a Feudal Society: A New Perspective on the Post-Soviet Era. Springer. pp. 105–106.ISBN978-0-230-60969-3.
Ross, Cameron (2003).Federalism and Democratisation in Russia. Manchester University Press. pp. 24–25.ISBN978-0-7190-5869-1.
Roeder, Philip (2007).Where Nation-States Come From: Institutional Change in the Age of Nationalism. Princeton University Press. p. 134.ISBN978-0-691-12728-6.
Sotiriou, Stylianos (2019).Politics and International Relations in Eurasia. Lexington Books. p. 100.ISBN9781498565394.
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