Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast

Zaporozhye Oblast
Запорожская область
Coat of arms of Zaporozhye Oblast
Zaporizhzhia Oblast:

  Russian-occupied territory
  Territory liberated from Russian occupation
  Territory never occupied by Russia

Occupied countryUkraine
Occupying powerRussia
Russian-installed occupation regimeZaporozhye military–civilian administration[a] (2022)
Disputed oblast of RussiaZaporozhye Oblast[b] (2022–present)
Southern Ukraine campaign24 February 2022
Annexation by Russia30 September 2022
Administrative centreMelitopol[1]
Largest settlementMelitopol[1]
Government
 • Head of AdministrationYevgeny Balitsky (United Russia)[2]
 • Deputy Head of AdministrationMikhail Gritsai[3]
 • Head of military–civilian administration governmentAnton Koltsov
Websitezo.gov.ru

The Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast began on 24 February 2022 when Russian forces invaded Ukraine and seized southern areas of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. On 26 February, the city of Berdiansk fell under Russian control, followed by Russian victory at Melitopol on 1 March. Russian forces besieged the city of Enerhodar, home of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, then captured it on 4 March. They did not take the oblast's capital city of Zaporizhzhia, however, which remained under Ukrainian government control.

In May, the Russian government began offering Russian passports to the region's inhabitants.[4] In July, it issued a decree that extended Russian 2022 war censorship laws to the oblast, and included deportation to Russia as a penalty.[5] In September, occupation forces held largely disputed referendums in the occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblast to join the Russian Federation.[6][7] On 27 September, Russian officials claimed that Zaporizhzhia Oblast's referendum passed with 93.11% of voters in favour of joining the Russian Federation.[8][9] Russia signed an accession treaty with the Russian administration of the region on 30 September 2022.[10] Russia annexed Zaporizhzhia Oblast on 30 September 2022, including parts of the oblast that it did not control at the time.[10] The United Nations General Assembly demanded that Russia "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw, and passed a resolution calling on countries not to recognise what it described as an "attempted illegal annexation".[11]

Initially called the Zaporozhye military–civilian administration,[a] the name of the Russian-installed occupation force changed after annexation to Zaporozhye Oblast,[b] the Russian equivalent. Melitopol serves as the Russian seat of administration because the Russians do not control Zaporizhzhia. In March 2023, Melitopol became the official capital of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast after the acting head of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Yevgeny Balitsky, signed a decree on moving the de jure capital to Melitopol until Zaporizhzhia is captured.[12]


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  1. ^ a b "Russian proxies plan vote in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region on joining Russia". Reuters. 8 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Глава Запорожской ВГА Балицкий вступил в "Единую Россию"". RIA Novosti. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  3. ^ "У самопровозглашенного мэра Бердянска появились новые заместители: что про них известно?!". zabor.zp.ua (in Russian). 30 April 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  4. ^ Chernov, Mstyslav (27 July 2022). "Putin expands fast-track Russian citizenship to all Ukraine". ABC. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  5. ^ Psaropoulos, John (21 June 2022). "Russia resumes eastern Ukraine offensive and expands war aims". Al Jazeera Media Network.
  6. ^ Karlovskyi, Denys (16 July 2022). "Russia plans to hold referendums in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts on 11 September Ukrainian intelligence". Yahoo News. Ukrayinska Pravda. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Ukraine's occupied Zaporizhzhia eyes Russia 'referendum' in autumn". Firstpost. Agence France-Presse. 16 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Pro-Moscow officials say 1 occupied area of Ukraine has voted to join Russia". PBS NewsHour. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Жители Запорожской области голосовали за воссоединение с Россией - Администрация Запорожской области". zapgov.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Ukraine war latest: Putin declares four areas of Ukraine as Russian". BBC. 30 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Ukraine: UN General Assembly demands Russia reverse course on 'attempted illegal annexation'". UN News. 12 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Мелитополь стал столицей Запорожской области". RIA Novosti. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.

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