Original Russian-language federal constitutional law, 106 pages including the annexed treaty of 30 September 2022. It is the Kherson counterpart of Law No. 5-FKZ (DOC-154) and sits alongside the treaty itself (DOC-112) and the federal ratification law No. 375-FZ (DOC-113) already in this collection. Russia controls only part of Kherson Oblast; the law claims the whole.
Law No. 8-FKZ purports to admit Kherson Oblast into the Russian Federation as a new constituent entity and mirrors, article for article, the law adopted for the "Donetsk People's Republic". Residents are recognised as Russian citizens unless they declare otherwise; the President appoints an acting governor (Decree No. 708, DOC-114); documents issued before the date of admission remain valid; and a transition period runs to 1 January 2026 for the integration of the region's legal, economic and financial systems into Russia's. Because the law claims the entire oblast, including the regional capital and right bank that Ukraine liberated in November 2022, it also illustrates the gap between the legal claim and territorial control. It was amended by Law No. 4-FKZ of 15 December 2025, which added the "ownerless" housing provisions (DOC-160).
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Key provisions
Admission and borders. Kherson Oblast is admitted as a constituent entity of the Russian Federation with the borders it held "on the day of its formation and admission".
Citizenship (art. 5). Ukrainian citizens and stateless persons permanently resident in the oblast are recognised as Russian citizens unless, within one month, they declare a wish to retain another citizenship.
Executive power (art. 8). The President appoints an acting Governor pending elections; regional bodies are formed under Russian federal law.
Documents (art. 12). Documents issued by Ukrainian bodies before the date of admission are recognised without confirmation; later Ukrainian documents are not covered.
Transition (art. 21 and following). Russian legislation on budget, tax, banking, property and social provision is phased in to 1 January 2026, with the specifics set by separate federal laws such as No. 17-FZ on pensions (DOC-159) and No. 266-FZ on the free economic zone (DOC-157).
Analytical note
The four admission laws are identical in design. Their significance for settlement lies less in the declaration of sovereignty than in the machinery they create: a population recoded as Russian, an executive appointed from Moscow, and a transition regime under which every later federal incentive for relocation applies automatically to the occupied territory.