The Verkhovna Rada determined the beginning of Russia’s occupation of Ukraine on February 19, 2014
The Verkhovna Rada marked the beginning of the temporary occupation of Ukraine by Russia on February 19, 2014, when Russia seized certain oil and gas facilities within the continental shelf of Ukraine.
This is stated in the bill №7270, for which 300 deputies of the Verkhovna Rada voted on April 21, as said the People’s Deputy from the Holos faction Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
The bill considers the day of the beginning of the temporary occupation of certain territories of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on February 19, 2014. These were individual oil and gas production facilities within the continental shelf of Ukraine (the list of such facilities is determined by the Ukrainian government).
The norm on the temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol from February 20, 2014, as provided by the current law, remains in force.
The draft law also states the date of occupation of certain territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which began on April 7, 2014.
The People’s Deputies supplemented already adopted Law on Securing the Rights and Freedoms of Citizens and the Legal Regime n the Temporarily Occupied Territory of Ukraine with a new article, which sets the goal of state policy in the temporarily occupied territories.
Among established goals of Ukraine are:
- deoccupation of the temporarily occupied territory;
- ensuring the protection of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of individuals and legal entities to the extent provided by law;
- ensuring the independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine determines the administrative boundary between the temporarily occupied territory and the territory controlled by the Ukrainian government. The decision of the National Security and Defense Council enacts a decree of the President of Ukraine.
The bill also provides for the establishment of a line of contact between the temporarily occupied territory and the government-controlled territory of Ukraine, which is also determined by the Ukrainian President at the request of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
The draft law indicates the Ukrainian Constitution, legislation and Article 51 of the UN Charter as the legal basis for repelling Russian armed aggression and restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Sources: Yaroslav Zheleznyak, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine