The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning Russiaʼs attempt to annex the occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine.
The resolution entitled "Territorial integrity of Ukraine. Protection of the principles of the UN Charter" was supported by 143 out of 193 member states. 33 countries abstained, five voted against. These five are Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea, and Nicaragua.
The resolution calls on the Russian Federation to stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine and not to recognize any changes in the status of Ukraineʼs regions.
- On September 30, Putin announced the "joining" of the occupied Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions to the Russian Federation. Because of this, the USA, Canada, Great Britain, and the EU introduced new sanctions against Russia.
- On October 4, the Council of the Russian Federation finally approved the annexation of the occupied parts of Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Zelensky declared Putinʼs decrees on the recognition of the "independence" of the regions of Ukraine to be null and void.
- The Ukrainian authorities declared that the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Russia would not change anything — the Ukrainian Armed Forces would continue to liberate the occupied lands.