Russia plans to remove border zones separating Russia from occupied Ukrainian territories
Russia plans to remove special border zones along its boundaries with occupied parts of Ukraine, further integrating the occupied territories into its legal and administrative system.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) intends to eliminate special border zones separating Russia from Ukrainian territories it has occupied, according to draft orders viewed by the Russian newspaper Agentstvo. These proposed alterations would dismantle restrictions that currently treat movement between Russia and the occupied sections of Ukraine similarly to crossing an international border.
The FSB claims the move follows Russia's proclaimed annexation of the Ukrainian territories into Russia. Purpose of border zone removal The draft orders, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda, would invalidate earlier FSB orders establishing border zones along the borders between Russia's Rostov and Voronezh oblasts and the occupied Ukrainian regions.
A comparable change is anticipated for the occupied Crimea, where the current border zone along the boundary with the occupied Kherson Oblast would be abolished. Existing rules impose additional controls on travelers entering and leaving the occupied territories, subjecting movement to procedures akin to those at Russia's state borders.
FSB's justification for the changes The FSB's rationale for the modifications hinges on the alleged "admission into the Russian Federation" of the occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson oblasts. Russia illegally asserted the annexation of these territories, along with Zaporizhzhia Oblast, in September 2022. This action has been rejected by Ukraine and the international community, and Russia does not presently control all the territory it claims to have annexed.
Crimea's island border zone would remain The FSB proposal would not entirely eliminate the border zone in occupied Crimea. A restricted zone would persist "within the boundaries of the Black Sea islands belonging to the Russian Federation," as stated in the draft. The FSB's regional directorate would dictate when and where individuals could enter the zone and would install warning signs.
Border zone retention around Crimea's islands The proposed changes would retain a border zone around specific Black Sea islands in the occupied Crimea. Russia's treatment of occupied territory As Russia seeks to incorporate the occupied Ukrainian regions into its administrative and legal framework, the planned changes reflect Moscow's approach.
In September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed "accession treaties" purportedly incorporating Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts into Russia. Following this, Russia's parliament endorsed the claims. The treaties purported to delineate the boundaries of the annexed territories based on their positions on the day Russia purportedly admitted them into the Russian Federation, despite Russia not controlling the entirety of those regions.
Previous measures to formalize control over Crimea Russia previously utilized similar measures to formalize its control over the occupied Crimea following its illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014.
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