Russian State Duma ratifies accession treaties for Donbass, Kherson, and Zaporozhye

The lower house of parliament backed the documents after President Vladimir Putin introduced the bill

The State Duma has unanimously ratified the treaties on the accession of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, to Russia.

President Vladimir Putin submitted the documents regarding the four former Ukrainian territories to the lower house of parliament on Sunday. All four voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining Russia in referendums held between September 23 and 27.

Addressing legislators before the vote, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that accession will “serve the interests of all people of our multiethnic country.” He added that Kiev had oppressed Russian-speaking people, which made the existence of certain territories within the Ukrainian state impossible.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin argued that accession to Russia is the only way to save the people living in the four former Ukrainian territories from shelling by Ukrainian troops. “The only way to end this is reunification [with Russia],” he said.

READ MORE: Long way home: How Ukraine lost control of regions that returned to Russia

The accession treaties, which were signed by Putin on Friday, were then approved by the Russian Constitutional Court.

The next step in the accession process is ratification by the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament.

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