{{Short description|Ongoing military occupations by Russia since 1991}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}} {{Use Oxford spelling|date=February 2022}}
The Russian Federation is currently occupying territories in whole or in part within Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine. Although the status of these territories may vary in Russian law, they are all widely regarded among the international community as being under military occupation in contravention to the international law. Russia disputes the consensus on sovereignty over these territories as a result of the post-Soviet conflicts, which broke out amidst the dissolution of the Soviet Union between 1988 and 1991.
The phrase "'''Russian-occupied territories'''" is applied to: * Moldova: Transnistria (since 1992) * Georgia: Abkhazia and South Ossetia (since 2008) * Ukraine: Crimea and Sevastopol, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson (since 2014 and 2022)
== Overview == [[File:Russian occupied territories in map.svg|alt=Territories occupied by Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union|center|600px|thumb|Map showing Russia in dark red with Russian-occupied territories in Europe in light red, as follows: <ul> <li>In Moldova: Transnistria (1), since 1992</li> <li>In Georgia: Abkhazia (2) and South Ossetia (3), since 2008</li> <li>In Ukraine: Crimea (4) and parts of Luhansk Oblast (5) and Donetsk Oblast (6), since 2014; and parts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast (7) and Kherson Oblast (8), since 2022</li> </ul>]]
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%" ! Territory in question !! Transnistria !! Abkhazia !! South Ossetia !! Crimea and<br />Sevastopol !! Donetsk, Kherson,<br />Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia |- | Claimed by || align="center"| {{flag|Moldova}}<br />(1992–present) || align="center" colspan=2 | {{flag|Georgia}}<br />(1992–present) || align="center"| {{flag|Ukraine}}<br />(2014–present) || align="center" | {{flag|Ukraine}}<br />(2022–present) |- | ''De facto'' administrated by || align="center"| {{flag|Transnistria}}<br />(1992–present) || align="center"| {{flag|Abkhazia}}<br />(1992–present) || align="center"| {{flag|South Ossetia}}<br />(1992–present) || align="center"| {{flag|Russia}}<br />(2014–present) || align="center" | {{flag|Russia}}<br />(2022–present)<br />''active war zone'' |- | Russia considers it part of its territory? || {{no|No, Russia officially recognizes Moldovan sovereignty over Transnistria, following the Transnistria War}}<ref>[https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/international_safety/conflicts/1524976/ Приднестровское урегулирование – Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации]</ref><ref>[https://mid.ru/ru/maps/md/ Республика Молдова – Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации]</ref> || {{no|No, Russia recognises Abkhazia as an independent state<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/27957|title=Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 26.08.2008 г. № 1260|website=Президент России}}</ref><ref>[https://mid.ru/ru/maps/ab/ Республика Абхазия – Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации]</ref> since 2008 following the Russo-Georgian War}} || {{no|No, Russia recognises South Ossetia as an independent state<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/27958|title=Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 26.08.2008 г. № 1261|website=Президент России}}</ref><ref>[https://mid.ru/ru/maps/os/ Южная Осетия – Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации]</ref> since 2008 following the Russo-Georgian War}} || {{yes|Yes, annexed in 2014 as federal subjects of Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, following the start of Russo-Ukrainian War}} || {{yes|Yes, annexed in 2022 as federal subjects of Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic, Kherson Oblast and Zaporozhye Oblast, following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine}} |- | Nature of occupation || {{partial|Presence of the Operational Group of Russian Forces, opposed by Moldova}} || {{partial|Presence of the 7th Military Base, opposed by Georgia}} || {{partial|Presence of the 4th Guards Military Base, opposed by Georgia}} || colspan=2 {{yes|Russian annexation not recognised internationally. Considered by Ukraine as "temporarily occupied territories"<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1207-vii|title= Закон України від 15.04.2014 № 1207-VII «Про забезпечення прав і свобод громадян та правовий режим на тимчасово окупованій території України»|ref=Закон о ВОТ|lang=uk}}</ref>}} |- | ''De facto'' armed forces || {{no|Armed Forces of Transnistria}} || {{no|Abkhazian Armed Forces}} || {{no|Armed Forces of South Ossetia}} || {{yes|Russian Armed Forces}} || align="center"| ''active war zone'' |- | ''De facto'' circulating currency || {{no|Transnistrian ruble}} || colspan=3 {{yes|Russian ruble}} || {{partial|Russian ruble and Ukrainian hryvnia<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.interfax.ru/world/466311|title=Рубль стал основной валютой в ДНР|work=Интерфакс}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-04/forget-tanks-it-s-russia-s-ruble-that-s-conquering-east-ukraine|title=Forget Tanks. Russia's Ruble Is Conquering Eastern Ukraine|first1=Yulia|last1=Surkova|first2=Daryna|last2=Krasnolutska|work=Bloomberg|date=4 May 2015|access-date=12 January 2016|archive-date=1 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101201950/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-04/forget-tanks-it-s-russia-s-ruble-that-s-conquering-east-ukraine|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ogawa |first=Tomoyo |date=24 May 2022 |title='Time running out' to save Kherson from becoming Russian |language=en-GB |work=Nikkei Asia |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/Interview/Time-running-out-to-save-Kherson-from-becoming-Russian |access-date=2023-07-11}}</ref>}} |- | Passports || {{partial|Transnistrian passport. Residents are also eligible for Moldovan or Russian passports for travel abroad.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Munteanu |first=Angela |author2=Igor Munteanu |date=May 2007 |title=Transnistria: a paradise for vested interests boeckler.de [PDF] |url=http://www.boeckler.de/pdf/seer_2007_4_munteanu.pdf |journal=SEER-South-East Europe Review for Labour |publisher=CEEOL |issue=May |pages=58 |access-date=2010-02-17 |archive-date=18 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718203944/http://www.boeckler.de/pdf/seer_2007_4_munteanu.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>}} || {{partial|Abkhazian passport. Residents are also eligible for Russian passports for travel abroad.}} || {{partial|South Ossetian passport. Residents are also eligible for Russian passports for travel abroad.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-08-06 |title=Президент Южной Осетии: 95% наших граждан имеют паспорта РФ |url=https://cominf.org/node/1166524407 |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=Государственное информационное агентство "Рес" |language=ru |archive-date=2023-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825002412/https://cominf.org/node/1166524407 |url-status=live }}</ref>}} || {{yes|Russian passport}} || {{partial|Ukrainian passport being replaced by Russian passport<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hoffmann |first1=Patrick R. |title=Völkerrechtliche Vorgaben für die Verleihung der Staatsangehörigkeit |date=2022 |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |location=Tübingen |isbn=978-3-16-161110-0 |pages=149}}</ref><ref>[https://visitukraine.today/blog/716/forced-passportization-of-ukrainians-in-the-temporarily-occupied-territories-why-one-should-not-take-a-russian-passport "Forced passportization in the temporarily occupied territories: why one should not take a Russian passport"], VisitUkraine, 14 August 2022</ref>}} |- | Under Russian telephone numbering plan? || {{no|No, +373}} || {{Yes|Yes, +7 (840) and +7 (940)}} || {{Yes|Yes, +7 (850) and +7 (929)}} || {{Yes|Yes, +7 (978), +7 (365) and +7 (869)}} || {{Yes|Yes, +7 (856), +7 (857), +7 (860) and +7 (810)}} |}
== Moldova == === Transnistria === {{Main|Russian military presence in Transnistria|Proposed Russian annexation of Transnistria}} [[File:Bender 1992.jpg|thumb|Transnistrian forces during the Battle of Bender in June 1992]] Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 21 December 1991, many Moldovans all over the former Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic started demanding unification with Romania;<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2021-04-19/moldova-record-breaking-support-reunification-romania | work=Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) | title=Moldova: record-breaking support for reunification with Romania | date=19 April 2021}}</ref> and that "Moldovan" (which they wanted to be referred to as Romanian) be written in the Latin alphabet, as opposed to Cyrillic, and that it become the only official language of Moldova – which was subsequently approved in March 2023.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.rferl.org/a/moldova-russia-romanian-language-bill-parliament/32298099.html | work=Radio Free Europe | title=Moldova's Parliament Approves Turbulent First Reading Of Romanian Language Bill | date=3 March 2023}}</ref> This was not well received in modern Gagauzia,<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/05/09/pro-russian-pressure-increases-on-moldova-using-disinformation-and-provocations_5982879_4.html | work=Le Monde | title=Pro-Russian pressure increases on Moldova, using disinformation and provocations | date=9 May 2022}}</ref> an ethnically Turkic region in Moldova, and in most of the area on the left bank of the Dniester river. Here, Russian-speakers, who formed the majority in the region, advocated that Russian be kept as an official language of Moldova alongside Moldovan (which was still to be written in Cyrillic and not to be referred to as Romanian), and that Moldova not unify with Romania. These differences erupted into the Transnistria War in 1992,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://moldova.europalibera.org/a/oazu-nantoi-conflictul-nu-este-intern-pacificatorii-ru%C8%99i-au-menirea-de-a-nu-admite-rezolvarea-acestui-conflict-/30462562.html|title=Oazu Nantoi: "Conflictul nu este intern. Pacificatorii ruși au menirea de a nu admite rezolvarea acestui conflict"|first=Valentina|last=Ursu|newspaper=Radio Europa Liberă Moldova|date=1 March 2020|language=ro}}</ref> which, following the bloody 1992 battle of Bender, resulted in victory for the separatists, who had earlier declared the independence of Transnistria following a Russian military intervention there, which is still present today in the area, and which still defends the Transnistrian regime today despite Moldovan requests to withdraw from what is still legally its internationally recognized territory. Since the end of the war, Transnistria has made several requests to become a part of Russia.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://odessa-journal.com/transnistria-announced-plans-to-become-part-of-russia-how-moldova-and-russia-reacted/ | work=The Odessa Journal | title=Transnistria announced plans to become part of Russia: how Moldova and Russia reacted | date=22 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26627236 | work=BBC | title=Moldova's Trans-Dniester region pleads to join Russia | date=18 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://mondediplo.com/2015/03/04transnistria | work=Le Monde | title=The value of a frozen conflict}}</ref>
== Georgia == [[File:South Russia geopolitics 2015.jpg|thumb|Map showing Russian political and military influence or interference in Post-Soviet conflicts after Russian invasion of Ukraine]]
=== Abkhazia and South Ossetia === {{main|Russian-occupied territories in Georgia|Proposed Russian annexation of South Ossetia}} [[File:South Ossetia war 58 army.jpg|right|thumb|alt=Tank-like vehicle with soldiers aboard|Russian BMP-2 from the 58th Army in South Ossetia]] After the Russo-Georgian War, President Medvedev signed decrees on 26 August 2008 recognizing the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as sovereign states. Russia established diplomatic relations with these partially recognized states and placed Russian troops in both. Russian security forces were deployed along the demarcation lines with Georgia.
Many international journalists and media companies, such as Al Jazeera, BBC and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, as well as non-governmental organizations, have referred to Abkhazia and South Ossetia as Russian-occupied territories.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/11/hopeful-georgia-takes-baby-steps-towards-eu-20131129161746617869.html | work=Al Jazeera | title=Hopeful Georgia takes baby steps towards EU | date=30 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.rferl.org/a/biden-recognition-georgia-breakaway/24891024.html | work=RFE/RL | title=Biden Says U.S. Will Not Recognize Abkhazia, South Ossetia | date=2 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=CACI Analyst | author=Ariela Shapiro |url=http://cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/12773-normalized-georgia-russia-relations-may-contradict-georgias-territorial-integrity.html |title=Normalized Georgia-Russia Relations May Contradict Georgia's Territorial Integrity | date=13 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56720589|title = Is Russia going to war with Ukraine and other questions|work = BBC News|date = 13 April 2021}}</ref>
The Georgian parliament unanimously passed a resolution on 28 August 2008 formally declaring Abkhazia and South Ossetia as Russian-occupied territories and Russian troops as occupying forces. The law forbids entry into the regions from Russia and subjects violators to a fine or imprisonment.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://old.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=19330 |title=Abkhazia, S.Ossetia Formally Declared Occupied Territory | work=Civil Georgia | date=28 August 2008 | access-date=28 February 2022}}</ref> Abkhazia may only be entered from Zugdidi Municipality, via the Enguri Bridge. South Ossetia, however, does not allow entry of foreigners from Georgian-controlled territory.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://mfa.rsogov.org/en/node/1398 | work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia | title=Entry procedures for foreign citizens arriving to the Republic of South Ossetia | access-date=28 February 2022}}</ref> The crossing points into South Ossetia have been effectively closed for locals as well since September 2019,<ref>{{cite web| url=https://civil.ge/archives/438973 |title=EU Calls for Reopening Tskhinvali Crossing Points | work=Civil Georgia | date=6 September 2021 | access-date=28 February 2022}}</ref> while a special permit regime is in place by South Ossetian de facto authorities for two crossing points: Akhalgori – Odzisi (Mtskheta Municipality) and Karzmani (Sachkhere Municipality).<ref>{{cite web| url=https://civil.ge/archives/396195 |title=Tskhinvali to Continue Issuing Passage Permits for Odzisi, Karzmani Crossing Points | work=Civil Georgia | date=9 February 2021 | access-date=28 February 2022}}</ref>
In April 2010, the Georgian parliament's foreign affairs committee asked the legislative bodies of 31 countries to declare Abkhazia and South Ossetia as territories under Russian occupation and to recognize the massive displacement of civilians from those regions by Russia as amounting to ethnic cleansing.<ref>[https://civil.ge/archives/120051 Letter by Georgian Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Relations]. Civil Georgia. 8 April 2010.</ref> The Russian Foreign Ministry retaliated, asking Georgia to abolish the law.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130605/181527918.html | work=RIA Novosti | title=Russia Urges Georgia to Scrap Occupied Territories Law | date=5 June 2013}}</ref> Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly annually condemned the forced demographic changes taking place in both regions as result of the displacement and the refusal of the right of return of Internally displaced persons (in practical terms, ethnic Georgians). In 2022 95 UN members supported the resolution, with 12 against and 56 abstentions.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://press.un.org/en/2022/ga12423.doc.htm | work=United Nations | title=Protracted Conflicts in GUAM Area | date=2022-06-08 | access-date=2022-07-22}}</ref> It noted in a 2022 report, acknowledged with the same resolution, the Russian enforcement of the de facto border which violates "freedom of movement" principles.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N22/343/67/PDF/N2234367.pdf?OpenElement | work=United Nations | title=Report of the Secretary-General – Status of internally displaced persons and refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia, and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia | date=2022-05-09 | access-date=2022-07-22}}</ref>
South Ossetia has also discussed several times a possible annexation of the state by Russia.
== Ukraine == {{main|Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine|Russo-Ukrainian War}}
=== Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk (2014) === {{main|2014 Russian annexation of Crimea|War in Donbas}}
[[File:Putin with Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergey Aksyonov and Alexey Chaly 4.jpeg|thumb|Russian president Vladimir Putin signing the treaty of the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation with Crimean leaders.]] After the Russian military invasion that resulted in Ukrainian control over the Crimean peninsula and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts being lost, the situation regarding the Crimean peninsula is more complex since Russia annexed the territory in March 2014 and now administers it as two federal subjects – the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol. Ukraine continues to claim Crimea as an integral part of its territory, supported by most foreign governments and United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262,<ref>{{cite news|title=Kremlin: Crimea and Sevastopol are now part of Russia, not Ukraine|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/18/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/|publisher=CNN|date=18 March 2014}}</ref> although Russia and some other UN member states recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation or have expressed support for the 2014 Crimean status referendum.
In 2015, the Ukrainian parliament officially set 20 February 2014 as the date of "the beginning of the temporary occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia",<ref>{{in lang|uk}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20160702205450/http://ukr.segodnya.ua/regions/krym/nyasha-poklonskaya-obeshchaet-boycam-berkuta-nakazat-uchastnikov-maydana-700800.html "Nasha" Poklonsky promises to the "Berkut" fighters to punish the participants of the Maidan], Segodnya (20 March 2016)</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ukrweekly.com/uwwp/thoughts-on-the-russian-occupied-territories/|title = Thoughts on the Russian-occupied territories| date=8 May 2020 }}</ref> with 7% of Ukraine's territory under occupation.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12122.doc.htm| title=Speakers Urge Peaceful Settlement to Conflict in Ukraine, Underline Support for Sovereignty, Territorial Integrity of Crimea, Donbas Region |date=20 February 2019| access-date= 16 May 2019 | publisher=United Nations}}</ref>
=== Invasion of Ukraine (2022–present) === thumb|Regions of Ukraine annexed by Russia in 2014 and 2022, with a red line marking the area of actual control by Russia on 30 September 2022. {{main|Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022–present)|Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts}}
In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine after recognizing the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic as independent states. Russian president Putin ordered Russian forces to "perform peacekeeping functions"<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-02-22 |title=Putin orders Russian forces to "perform peacekeeping functions" in eastern Ukraine's breakaway regions |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-orders-russian-peacekeepers-eastern-ukraines-two-breakaway-regions-2022-02-21/ |access-date=2022-12-11}}</ref> in Ukraine on 22 February, and then to begin a "special military operation" on 24 February, making it illegal to refer to the biggest European conflict since WWII as a "war" in Russia. {{As of|2022|10}}, Russia occupies parts of Donetsk Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, Kherson Oblast, Luhansk Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and all of the Crimean peninsula with its armed forces, its mercenary groups like Wagner, Chechen Kadyrovites, and Russian-led separatists of the DPR and LPR. The invasion is sometimes seen as part of contemporary Russian imperialism.<ref>[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13523260.2023.2259661 Oksamytna, Kseniya. "Imperialism, supremacy, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine." Contemporary Security Policy 44.4 (2023): 497–512.]</ref>
In September, the Ukrainian army recaptured almost all of Kharkiv Oblast.
Russia held annexation referendums in occupied territories of Ukraine from 23 September to 27 September. On 30 September, Putin signed treaties with the Russian-appointed heads of the DPR, LPR, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions to be integrated into Russia,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ukraine war latest: Putin declares four areas of Ukraine as Russian |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-63077272 |access-date=2022-09-30 |website=BBC News |date=30 September 2022 |language=en-gb}}</ref> and their annexation was approved by the Russian constitutional court and ratified by the Russian Federation Council, although the newly claimed borders of the Russian Federation are yet to be determined.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-10-04 |title=Russia's Federation Council ratifies annexation of four Ukrainian regions |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-federation-council-ratifies-annexation-four-ukrainian-regions-2022-10-04/ |access-date=2022-10-05}}</ref>
== See also == {{portal|Georgia (country)|Moldova|Russia|Ukraine|Europe|Asia|Geography}} * Post-Soviet conflicts * International recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic * Cold War II * Russian imperialism * List of military occupations * Military history of the Russian Federation * Estonian–Russian territorial dispute * Kuril Islands dispute {{clear}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Georgia topics}} {{Moldova topics}} {{Russia topics}} {{Ukraine topics}} {{Territorial disputes in Europe}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Russian military occupations Category:Territories under military occupation Category:Political history of Georgia (country) Category:Political history of Moldova Category:Political history of Ukraine Category:Countries and territories where Russian is an official language Category:Autonomous republics of Georgia (country) Category:Separatism in Moldova Category:Territorial disputes of Russia Occupation Category:Russo-Ukrainian war Category:Russo-Georgian War Category:Transnistria conflict Category:Conflicts in Ukraine Category:2010s in Ukraine Category:Conflicts in territory of the former Soviet Union Category:Disputed territories in Asia Category:Russian irredentism Category:Georgia (country)–Russia relations Category:Moldova–Russia relations Category:Russia–Ukraine relations Category:Neo-Sovietism