Overview
- António Guterres said a UN Office of Legal Affairs review concluded the self-determination principle does not apply to the occupied regions.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow has formally asked the UN to recognize self-determination for populations in Crimea and Donbas.
- Ukraine’s foreign ministry condemned the request and cited the 2022 UN General Assembly vote in which 143 states rejected Russia’s attempted annexations.
- Delegations from the United States, Russia, and Ukraine met in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 23–24 and are set to reconvene on Feb. 1, with territorial issues still unresolved.
- Reports describe Russia seeking control over all of Donbas and demanding Ukrainian troop withdrawals from parts of Donetsk not under Russian occupation.