President Vladimir V. Putin has signed more than 400 pages of legislation to annex four regions of Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, in the face of a parallel reality in which Russia pretends to exercise sovereignty over thousands of square miles of territory. territory that their army does not actually control.
The Russian Economy Ministry has sought to tie real interests to a largely illusory claim, predicting that the merger would raise Russia’s metallurgical and sunflower production by 20% each, while coal volume will increase by 6%. State news agency RIA Novosti released a map aims to represent Russia’s new territory, further stating that part of it “is under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
And Russian state television hailed Wednesday’s signing as the biggest news story of the day, while downplaying or ignoring the fact that Russian forces are retreating in many parts of the front line.
“The only currency, starting January 1, 2023, will be the ruble, and the territorial bodies of federal agencies will be created by June 1,” anchors the 12-hour news night on Channel 1.
Four bills outlining the takeover process – one for each region, more than 100 pages each – were published on a government website on Wednesday, with the Kremlin’s seal on the last page. , October 4, in lieu of Mr. Putin’s signature. It’s an example of how Mr. Putin has long tried to legitimize his actions – albeit illegal ones – in light of the legitimacy bestowed by Russia’s rubber stamping organisations.
The Kremlin has stated that it will fight to capture all of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions – Ukraine still holds some of the city of Donetsk – but it is more vague about its goals in the other two regions. they are trying to annex are Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. That has caused confusion over the new border Russia is claiming with its illegal annexation.
While Mr. Putin announced the merger plan last Friday in a pompous and furious speech at the Kremlin, followed by a signing ceremony, there was no other fanfare involving the president during the week. this.
“Our country is getting bigger, de jure, today,” said his spokesman, Dmitri. S. Peskov, told reporters, according to Russia’s state news agency Tass. “This is very important.”
But even the borders of the annexed territory – an annexation has only just been authentication North Korea – continued operations on Wednesday as Ukrainian troops continued their counterattack in the south and east of their country. Peskov was furious when asked if the merger would contradict the withdrawal of Russian troops.
“There is no contradiction here,” said Peskov speak. “They will be with Russia forever. They will be returned.”
