Moscow insists that Kyiv recognise the results of the sham referendums held in autumn 2022 in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic [self-proclaimed and non-recognised quasi-state formations in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts – ed.] and occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, after which the occupied territories of Ukraine were claimed to be Russian.

Source : Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in an interview with Sky News Arabia; RBC, a Russian news outlet

Details : He added that ignoring the results of these sham referendums would mean that there was a chance of renewed armed conflict.

Putin also considers Ukraine's neutral status – its refusal to join alliances and renounce nuclear weapons – to be the basis for long-term stability in the region.

Quote from Putin: "I hope that the current leaders of Ukraine will be guided by national interests, not the interests of third parties…

Ukraine deserves a better fate than being a tool in the hands of external forces working against Russia."

Background : From 23 to 27 September 2022, the Russians held sham referendums on the annexation of the captured territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts to Russia. The results were drawn as follows: 87 to 99% in favour of annexation.

A couple of days later, Putin signed a treaty on accession to Russia for the occupied Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts and declared that from now on their residents are citizens of the Russian Federation.

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