Russia Plans to Abolish Border Zones With Occupied Ukrainian Territories

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) plans to abolish border zones along the border between Russian territory and the occupied regions of Ukraine.

The Agentstvo news outlet reports this, citing a corresponding draft order by the Russian security agency.

The move would lift special-regime restrictions in the Rostov and Voronezh regions, as well as in the border zone between annexed Crimea and the occupied part of the Kherson region.

The FSB proposes declaring previous orders establishing the border zones null and void. Previously, these rules required mandatory checks similar to those carried out when crossing an international border.

The agency explains the decision as an attempt to fully integrate the seized Ukrainian territories and recognize them as ‘part of Russia.’

Meanwhile, the border zone in Crimea is not being abolished entirely. It will remain in place around the Black Sea islands controlled by the occupation authorities.

The adoption of this document effectively removes formal administrative barriers to the movement of military forces and civilian transport between neighboring Russian regions and the occupied territories of Ukraine.