2022 annexation referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine

In late September 2022, Russian-supported officials in Ukraine staged referendums on the annexation of occupied territories of Ukraine by Russia. They were widely seen as shams, or not taken seriously by many world leaders and commentators. Currently, only North Korea has acknowledged the results of the referendums.
The votes were conducted in four areas of Ukraine – the Russian puppet states of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic in the Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine, as well as the Russian-appointed military administrations of Kherson Oblast and Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Russia does not fully control any of the four regions. The referendums were illegal under international law and have been condemned by the United Nations.
On 30 September 2022, Russia's president Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts of Ukraine in an address to both houses of the Russian parliament. The United Nations, Ukraine, and many other countries condemned the annexation.