Former Russian space agency chief becomes "senator" for occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast

The Russians have appointed Dmitry Rogozin, former Director of the Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos and head of the Tsarskiye Volki (Tsar’s Wolves) military technical centre, as Russia’s "senator" for the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Source: Kremlin-aligned newspaper Kommersant; Rogozin on Telegram; Russian news agency Interfax

Details: A source in the Russian occupying "administration" of Zaporizhzhia Oblast told Kommersant that the decree appointing Rogozin as a "senator" (a representative in Russia’s Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament) was signed by Yevhen Balytskyi, who was approved as the sham "governor" of Zaporizhzhia Oblast on 23 September.

Rogozin himself confirmed this on his Telegram channel, writing: "It is an honour for me to defend the interests of Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Novorossiya (as Russian propaganda calls Ukraine's south – ed.) as a whole."

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Volodymyr Saldo, previously the Russian proxy "governor" of Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast, was elected as "governor" of the seized part of the oblast by the "deputies" of the sham "Kherson Oblast Council of the first convocation".

"Volodymyr Saldo received the majority of votes from the established number of deputies of the Kherson Oblast Council," Interfax quoted a representative of the sham "parliament" of Kherson Oblast as saying.

For reference: Under the procedure for electing a "governor", the Russian president puts candidates forward to the regional "parliament" for consideration, and the so-called "head of the region" is elected for a five-year term.

Russia’s Federation Council contains two representatives from each constituent entity of the Russian Federation: one from the legislative and one from the executive branch of government. The representative from the legislative body of a region must be a deputy of that body. The representative of the region's executive branch is appointed by the "governor" of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation.

Previously: On 8-10 September, Russia held sham local council "elections" in the occupied territories of Ukraine, along with local elections across Russia.

The EU declared that it did not recognise Russia's sham "elections" in the occupied territories of Ukraine and stressed that Russia’s leadership would face the consequences of these illegal actions.

The Council of Europe had previously stated that the sham "elections" recently held by Russia in the occupied territories of Ukraine are null and void under international law.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington would never recognise the results of these "sham elections".

Background:

• Dmitry Rogozin was wounded in the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk on 21 December 2022 during an attack on the Shesh-Besh Hotel, where he was reportedly celebrating his birthday.
• Rogozin was hospitalised with a penetrating wound: media reports suggested that a metal shrapnel piece measuring 8x6 mm entered above his right shoulder blade near the spine. Rogozin was later transferred to a Moscow hospital and underwent surgery.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!