Is it true that Zelensky signed a decree on Ukraine’s territorial claims to several Russian regions?

On January 22, 2024, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev said that the recent decree of the President of Ukraine put forward Kyiv’s claims to six regions of Russia. We checked what is actually written in this decree.

IN Conciliarity Day, which is celebrated in Ukraine on January 22, the President of this country Vladimir Zelensky announced on the signing of the decree “On the territories of the Russian Federation historically inhabited by Ukrainians.” Commenting on the document in his Telegram channel (1.5 million views at the time of writing this analysis), Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev wrotethat Zelensky is thus declaring Ukraine’s territorial claims to part of the internationally recognized territory of Russia. These words were picked up by major Russian federal media. Yes, agency TASS wrote: “Medvedev compared Kyiv’s claims to Kuban with the prospect of “annexing Canada”,” and “Moskovsky Komsomolets” published a note with the headline “Medvedev called Zelensky’s territorial claims to Russia a propaganda move.” In the same vein, many popular Telegram channels wrote about Zelensky’s new decree, in particular “The world today with "Yuri Podolyak""(1.6 million views), Readovka (880,000), "Ax Live"(727,000), "Operation Z: military correspondents of the Russian spring"(668,000). Telegram channel «Markov logic“put forward the version that Zelensky’s decree was dictated by Washington’s plans to transfer part of Russia’s regions under the control of Kyiv “for forced Ukrainization.”

According to the “Big Legal Dictionary” edited by Dodonov, territorial claim is the claim of one state to the territory of another with the aim of establishing its sovereignty over it.

Decree President of Ukraine No. 17/2024 in question was published on the website of the Ukrainian leader on the day of signing, January 22, and it is not difficult to check its contents. The first paragraph of the document states that “over the centuries, Russia has systematically committed actions aimed at destroying national identity, oppressing Ukrainians, and violating their rights and freedoms” in territories “historically inhabited by Ukrainians.” Among these, the document lists Kuban, Starodubshchina, Northern and Eastern Slobozhanshchina within the modern Krasnodar Territory, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk and Rostov regions of the Russian Federation.

The decree further emphasizes the need for Russia to comply with its international obligations to provide for Ukrainians living on its territory:

• the right to receive education in the Ukrainian language and its free use;
• civil, social, cultural and religious rights;
• rights of access to Ukrainian-language media;
• rights to peaceful assembly.

In this regard, the President of Ukraine instructed the government of the country to develop an action plan to preserve the national identity of Ukrainians in the Russian Federation, including on the lands historically inhabited by them. One of the points of this plan is the creation of a center for collecting information about crimes against Ukrainians in Russia, about forced Russification, political repression and deportations. Other tasks include preserving the historical memory of these events.

It also follows from the decree that the Cabinet of Ministers must more actively combat Russian propaganda and debunk Russian myths about Ukraine. In particular, the government, together with the National Academy of Sciences, should engage in the preparation and dissemination of materials about Ukrainian statehood and the territories that are now part of the Russian Federation, where ethnic Ukrainians have historically lived. It is planned to include materials about the past of ethnic Ukrainians in the lands historically inhabited by them within the Russian Federation. Another point of the action plan, which Zelensky expects the ministers to prepare, is “the development of interaction between Ukrainians and peoples enslaved by Russia.” In other words, in the text of the decree there is not a word about Ukraine’s desire to establish sovereignty over any internationally recognized Russian territories and about the annexation of the lands of Kuban, Rostov, Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk to Ukraine, as claim some bloggers. In the document, Zelensky only instructs the government of the country to prepare a set of measures to preserve the national identity of Ukrainians living in Russia.

Cover photo: Telegram channel «Markov logic»

Not true

What do our verdicts mean?

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