The Russian Federal Security Service plans to abolish border zones in certain areas of Rostov and Voronezh regions bordering the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as between occupied Crimea and part of Kherson region, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
"In fact, this is not about ending border control, but rather another attempt to erase the border between the territory of the aggressor state and the Ukrainian territory it occupies," the Foreign Ministry stated.
The ministry emphasized that no Russian law, decree, or departmental order can change the legal status of Ukrainian territories. The Foreign Ministry noted that occupation does not create sovereignty, and attempted annexation does not create territorial rights.
The Foreign Ministry noted that the drafts of the relevant Russian departmental orders explain this as the alleged "incorporation" of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine into Russia. The ministry emphasized that such administrative decisions do not change the internationally recognized legal status of Ukrainian territories.
"The Russian agency can move checkpoints, rewrite its own documents, and redraw maps as much as it likes. This does not make the occupied Ukrainian land Russian, and Ukraine’s internationally recognized state border does not move a single meter," the Foreign Ministry emphasized.
The ministry added that the FSB’s decision should be viewed as another element of the policy of administratively appropriating the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and creating the appearance of their "final integration" into the Russian Federation.
