Ukraine Condemns Russian Move to Erase Borders With Occupied Areas

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has responded to Russia’s stated intention to abolish border zones between Russian regions and occupied Ukrainian territories. Russia plans to remove border controls in areas of the Rostov and Voronezh regions that border occupied parts of Ukraine, as well as the administrative boundary between occupied Crimea and the seized portion of the Kherson region. Russian authorities attribute the policy change to the formal incorporation of these territories into Russia.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The Ukrainian MFA released a statement indicating that the move is an attempt to create the illusion that the occupied territories have become an integral part of Russia. The ministry stated that the initiative constitutes an attempt to erase the border between the two countries rather than a standard cessation of border control. According to the MFA, relocating border control to the external boundaries of the occupied territories is designed to simulate their integration into Russia. Legal status of the territories The MFA emphasized that Russian administrative decisions do not alter the legal status of Ukrainian territory. The ministry noted that military occupation does not establish sovereignty and that attempts at annexation do not generate territorial rights. “The Russian agency can move control points, rewrite its own documents, and redraw maps as much as it wants,” the ministry stated. “This does not make occupied Ukrainian land Russian, and the internationally recognized state border of Ukraine does not shift by a single meter.” Other Topics of Interest Russian Strikes Target Pavlohrad and Combine Harvester in Zaporizhzhia Russian forces struck the city of Pavlohrad and targeted a combine harvester in the Zaporizhzhia region, injuring four people. The MFA characterized the decision, reportedly overseen by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), as a continuation of Moscow’s policy of administrative appropriation regarding occupied Ukrainian territory. Russia began to formalize the occupied Ukrainian territories as part of its own state even before the full-scale invasion. On February 21, 2022, Vladimir Putin recognized the “independence” of the occupied parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions – the so-called “DPR” and “LPR” – and signed treaties with them on “friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance.” Three days later, on February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.