Key facts
- Russia is set to abolish border zones between its territory and occupied areas of Ukraine.
- The decision applies to border zones in Rostov and Voronezh oblasts bordering occupied Luhansk and Donetsk.
- Border zones between occupied Crimea and occupied Kherson Oblast will also be removed.
- This action is attributed to the "completion of the annexation" of Luhansk and Donetsk.
- Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and declared annexation of other Ukrainian oblasts in 2022.
Russia will begin removing border zones between its territory and occupied areas of Ukraine, according to internal FSB documents obtained by independent Russian media outlet Agentstvo. The border zones in Rostov and Voronezh oblasts, which lie along Russia's boundary with the occupied parts of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, will be eliminated due to the "completion of the annexation" of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic. The border zones between occupied Crimea and the occupied parts of Kherson Oblast will also be eliminated for the same stated reason. In Crimea, Russia will retain a border regime "within the Black Sea islands belonging to the Russian Federation," according to the documents. Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and declared the annexation of the partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in 2022, treating sovereign Ukrainian territory as part of Russia. It remains unclear whether the elimination of these border zones will involve the removal of checkpoints connecting territory Russia claims to have annexed, or if it will be purely an administrative change. Russian-occupied areas have historically been associated with lawlessness and smuggling.