evidence: Notes - ^ Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, remains internationally recognised as a part of Ukraine.[1] Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, which were annexed—though are only partially occupied—in 2022, also remain internationally recognised as a part of Ukraine. The southernmost Kuril Islands have been the subject of a territorial dispute with Japan since their occupation by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.[2] [...] - ^ Including bodies on territory disputed between Russia and Ukraine whose annexation has not been internationally recognised: the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol since the annexation of Crimea in 2014,[1] and territories set up following the Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in 2022. [...] - ^ Shevchenko, Nikolay (21 February 2018). "Check out Russia's Kalmykia: The only region in Europe where Buddhism rules the roost". Russia Beyond. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2023.