2022 annexation referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine in the context of "Luhansk Oblast"

Kherson Oblast (Ukrainian: Херсонська область, romanized: Khersonska oblast, IPA: [xerˈsɔnʲsʲkɐ ˈɔblɐsʲtʲ]; Russian: Херсонская область), also known as Khersonshchyna (Херсонщина, IPA: [xerˈsɔnʃtʃɪnɐ]), is an oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank of the Dnieper river, which bisects the oblast. The oblast has an area of 28,461 km and a population of 1,001,598 (2022 estimate). It is considered the 'fruit basket' of the country, as much of its agricultural production is dispersed throughout the country, with production peaking during the summer months.

Most of the area of the oblast has been under Russian military occupation since early in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In September 2022, Russia claimed to have annexed Kherson Oblast after arranging a disputed referendum. The referendum and the subsequent claimed annexation are internationally unrecognized. As the result of a counteroffensive operation, Ukrainian forces retook the whole area on the right bank of the Dnieper, including Kherson city, by mid-November 2022.

Zaporizhzhia Oblast (Ukrainian: Запорізька область, romanized: Zaporizka oblast), commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (Запоріжжя), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of 27,183 square kilometres (10,495 sq mi), and has a population of 1,638,462 (2022 estimate). The oblast is an important part of Ukraine's industry and agriculture.

Most of the oblast's area, including all of the coast, has been under Russian military occupation since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, although the capital and the majority of the population have remained under Ukrainian administration. In September 2022, Russia declared it had annexed the Zaporizhzhia oblast based on the results of a disputed referendum. The referendum and subsequent annexation are not internationally recognized.

On 30 September 2022, Russia, amid an ongoing invasion of Ukraine, unilaterally declared its annexation of areas in and around four Ukrainian oblasts—Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia. Most of Luhansk Oblast and part of Donetsk Oblast had been controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014, while the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts were invaded by Russia in 2022. The boundaries of the areas to be annexed and their borders were not defined; Russian officials stated that they would be defined later. None of the oblasts were fully under Russian control at the time of the declaration, nor since. If limited to the areas then under Russian control (about 90,000 km or 15% of Ukraine's territory, roughly the size of Portugal) the annexation would still be the largest in Europe since World War II.

The move occurred after internationally unrecognized referendums held days prior, which were organized by Russian occupation authorities in territories where hostilities were ongoing and much of the population had fled. It occurred seven months after the start of the invasion and less than a month after the start of the Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive. The signing ceremony was held in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow in the presence of occupation authority heads Leonid Pasechnik, Denis Pushilin, Yevgeny Balitsky and Vladimir Saldo, and Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Kadiivka (Ukrainian: Кадіївка) or Stakhanov (Russian: Стаханов), is a city in Alchevsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, Donbas, eastern Ukraine. Residence of Kadiivka urban hromada. It is located on the Komyshuvakha River, a right tributary of the Luhan. On the decision of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) the city was renamed back to Kadiivka in 2016. However, due to the Russian occupation of eastern Ukraine since early 2014, the Russian administration has kept the Soviet name of the city.

Following their 2022 annexation "referendum", Russia claimed the entire Luhansk Oblast, including Stakhanov (Kadiivka), as part of their Lugansk People's Republic (LPR / LNR). Kadiivka's population is approximately 73,248 (2022 estimate). Russia maintains the name Stakhanov, after the famous Soviet miner Alexei Stakhanov, and all city signage remains in the name of Stakhanov.