On 21 February 2022, at the end of a TV speech to the nation, the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin, signed the act of recognition of the separatist republics of Luhansk and Donetsk. On 23 February, before the Chamber of Deputies (644th Meeting, XVIII Legislature), the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr. Luigi Di Maio, made an urgent Government briefing on this issue.
He underlined that Russia’s decision to recognize certain areas of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts as independent entities and deploy Russian troops there was illegal and violated international law, Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and Russia’s international commitments. After affirming that the crisis between Russia and Ukraine had accelerated rapidly and posed a serious risk to global stability and prosperity, as well as the international order and freedom (“a threat to fundamental values”), he stressed that, despite some diplomatic efforts, the Russian President had decided to violate Ukraine’s territorial integrity. In the words of the Minister:
Moscow’s decision seriously undermines the Minsk Agreements, which provide that the authorities in Donetsk and Luhansk are subordinate to those in Kiev, albeit with broad decision-making autonomy. Recognizing the independence of the self-proclaimed separatist republics undermines the territorial integrity and full sovereignty of Ukraine, already called into question in 2014 with the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. We condemn Moscow’s decision to send a contingent of troops with alleged peacekeeping functions to the territories of the two separatist republics. It is a gesture that risks exacerbating an already highly tense situation.
He then recalled that:
On the request of President Putin, yesterday the Russian Federation Council authorized the deployment of military forces abroad. Furthermore, during a press conference yesterday, Putin stated that he recognizes the claims of Donetsk and Luhansk over the entire Donbass region, well beyond the Russian-speaking component present in the region, thus including areas currently under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and also called for recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea.
Minister Di Maio further clarified that, upon learning of the measure adopted by President Putin on Monday evening, the Italian Government had publicly expressed its firm condemnation, and that this step constituted a serious obstacle to the search for a diplomatic solution to the very serious crisis underway. Considering the Kremlin’s decision, Italy reiterated its support for the territorial integrity and full sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also highlighted that he had participated in a G7 meeting to coordinate restrictive measures in response to Russia’s actions. He emphasized that Italy had been working for months with the European Union and the United States to adopt a set of sanctions that are effective and firm in signaling to Moscow the high costs and consequences of any offensive actions. According to Mr. Di Maio, sanctions, to be effective, must act as a deterrent against further military actions and be sustainable, proportionate, gradual, and directly linked to concrete and objective developments on the ground.[1] Mr. Di Maio then recalled that the previous week he had met in Kiev with the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dmytro Kuleba, to reiterate Italy’s “strong support for the territorial integrity and full sovereignty of Ukraine”. With reference to Ukraine’s possible accession to NATO, Minister Di Maio had stressed “the validity of the open-door policy as one of the fundamental features of the Washington Treaty, including Ukraine’s freedom to make its own choices on foreign policy and national security”.
On the same day, in his update on the crisis between Russia and Ukraine before the Senate of the Republic (407th Meeting, XVIII Legislature), Mr. Di Maio further stated:
Moscow’s decision seriously undermines the Minsk agreements, which provide for the authorities in Donetsk and Luhansk to be subordinate to those in Kyiv, albeit with broad decision-making autonomy. Recognizing the independence of the self-proclaimed separatist republics undermines the territorial integrity and full sovereignty of Ukraine, which was already called into question in 2014 with the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. We condemn Moscow’s decision to send a contingent of troops with supposed peacekeeping functions to the territories of the two separatist republics. This is a gesture that risks exacerbating an already very tense situation.
On 30 September 2022, more than seven months after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine of 24 February, President Putin signed the treaties of accession of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions to Russia. On 12 October, at the Eleventh Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly, Ambassador Maurizio Massari, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations, delivered a statement in support of the adoption of Resolution ES-11/4, which condemned the attempted annexation and was adopted with 143 votes in favor, 5 votes against, and 35 abstentions. Ambassador Massari reiterated the position of Italy on the need to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and called on all Member States to vote in favor of the resolution. He stated:
We reject and unequivocally condemn the illegal attempted annexation by Russia of the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. Such unilateral annexation is void and cannot determine any legal effect whatsoever. Italy deplores in the strongest terms the sham referendum in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia during its war of aggression against Ukraine. Such actions constitute a flagrant breach of the UN Charter and blatantly violate international law and the principles of the Helsinki Final Act. […] Far from being an exercise of self-determination, the sham referenda took place amidst widespread and systematic abuses of human rights and intimidation. It is crystal clear that they only represent an attempt to unilaterally annex territories of a sovereign State through the use of coercion and military force.[2]
In condemning the annexation of the Ukrainian territories, the Italian representative made explicit reference to the doctrine of the “duty of non-recognition”[3] and clarified that refusing to recognize an unlawful annexation is not a “discretionary choice”, but rather an obligation imposed by international law. He expressed this argument as follows:
Italy does not and will never recognize the illegal attempted annexation, just as it has not recognized the illegal attempted annexation of Crimea, and calls on all States to do the same. We see this not as a discretionary choice for States but rather as our common duty under international law. […] Italy strongly condemns the recent, brutal and indiscriminate Russian attacks against many cities across Ukraine, deliberately targeting civilians and calls on Russia to put an end to its military aggression, withdraw from all Ukrainian territories and genuinely commit to diplomatic dialogue. Italy expresses its strong support for urgent and concrete de-escalation and a peaceful resolution with respect for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, along the lines of the resolution’s operative paragraph 7. […] Italy continues to firmly stand on the side of Ukraine people and in defense of its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. We must all stand together to resist Russia’s actions against a sovereign UN member State and uphold the principles of the UN Charter.
Antonino Alì
A quotable version of this post was published in the Italian Yearbook of International Law: Alì, “The Non-Recognition of the Separatist Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk and of Their Subsequent Accession to Russia with Kherson and Zaporizhzhia”, IYIL XXXII (2022), 2023, pp. 491-494; available here.
[1] On this see Turrini, “The Legality of Sanctions Between the Condemnation of Their Extraterritorial Application and Humanitarian Concerns”, IYIL, 2022, p. 487 ff.
[2] The full text of the statement is available here.
[3] Dawidowicz, “The Obligation of Non-recognition of an Unlawful Situation”, in Crawford et al. (eds.), The Law of International Responsibility, Oxford, 2010, p. 677 ff.
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