MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Friday that Russian forces’ withdrawal from Kherson would not change the status of the region, which Moscow has proclaimed part of Russia after moving to annex it from Ukraine.
Russia claimed Kherson and three other Ukrainian regions after holding what it called referendums in September – votes that were denounced by Kyiv and Western governments as illegal and coercive.
In a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the region’s status was “defined and fixed” and that no changes were possible.
(Reporting by Reuters)
