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"Listen to What the Russians
Are Saying About Novorossiya"
by Larry C. Johnson
"Among the many valuable things I have learned from my esteemed colleague, Ray McGovern, is the importance of listening to what the Russians are saying. One thing that both President Putin and Foreign Minster Lavrov have said, repeatedly during the past 12 years, is the importance of Novorossiya to Russia.
In his February 9, 2026, interview with TV BRICS (and echoed in related remarks), Lavrov reiterated Russia’s demands for a settlement: eradicating “Nazi foundations,” preventing weapons in Ukraine that threaten Russia, and protecting rights of Russian/Russian-speaking people in Crimea, Donbas, and Novorossiya (who the Kyiv regime has labeled as “subhuman” and launched a civil war against them early in 2014).
In a February 10, 2026, speech/ceremony marking Diplomatic Workers’ Day (reported by TASS and mid.ru), Lavrov stated that Russia will “complete the process of returning” Crimea, Donbas, and Novorossiya to their “native harbor” (i.e., full integration with Russia), in line with the “will” expressed in the 2022 referendums. He added that linguistic, cultural, and religious rights of Russians/Russian-speakers in areas remaining under Kyiv’s control must be restored, alongside eliminating military threats from Ukraine to Russia’s security.
Similar phrasing appeared in his February 11, 2026, remarks during the Government Hour in the State Duma, where he criticized Western “double standards” (e.g., supporting self-determination for Greenland while denying it for Crimea, Donbas, and Novorossiya) and vowed to defend Russia’s position diplomatically.
Novorossiya (Russian: Новороссия, meaning “New Russia”) is a historical term that originated in the 18th century during the era of the Russian Empire. It referred to a large administrative and colonial region in what is now southern and southeastern mainland Ukraine, along the northern coast of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
The term entered official use in 1764, when Empress Catherine the Great established the Novorossiya Governorate (Novorossiyskaya guberniya). This was part of Russia’s southward expansion during the late 18th century, driven by a series of Russo-Turkish Wars (notably 1768–1774 and 1787–1792).
The term was largely dormant after the early 20th century, but was deliberately resurrected in spring 2014 amid Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for the people of Donbas. Vladimir Putin first prominently used it in an April 17, 2014, call-in show, describing Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Odesa as part of “Novorossiya” — territories that were added to Ukraine by Bolsheviks without regard for ethnic composition.
I believe that when Putin and Lavrov speak of Novorossiya today they are signaling maximalist goals… Not just holding annexed territories (Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia) but laying a claim to adjacent regions, which include Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Mykolaiv where Russian speakers live or there are historical ties.
It did not have to be this way… When Judge Napolitano, Mario Nawfal and I interviewed Sergei Lavrov a year ago, the Foreign Minister emphasized that Russia had been willing to let Donbas and Luhansk remain as part of Ukraine if the rights of Russian speakers were guaranteed and the Russian Orthodox Church protected. He also reminded us that the Ukrainian negotiators were the ones who brought this proposal to the table in Istanbul in April 2022. But that preliminary agreement was blown up as a result of intervention by the US and Boris Johnson.
That was a watershed moment… In the ensuing months, Russia held a plebiscite in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporhyzhia and Kherson and gave the citizens of those oblasts the choice of becoming part of the Russian Federal Republic or remaining as a persecuted part of Ukraine. The results in all four oblasts were overwhelmingly in favor of joining the Russian Federation, which they subsequently did.
Until now - on the eve of the next trilateral meeting in Geneva between Russia, Ukraine and the United States - Russia had demanded that the four new republics, plus Crimea, be internationally recognized as permanent parts of Russia. This is a demand that Ukraine has repeatedly rejected. I believe that Lavrov’s recent remarks about Novorossiya is a deliberate signal that the Russian position has hardened. Any new negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine will now likely include the demand that Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, and Mykolaiv be given the opportunity to decide whether they want to join the Russian Federation.
I believe this will be on the agenda on Tuesday in Geneva, if the talks take place. Why “if”? There are growing signs that the US is going to attack Iran. If that attack takes place - given the recent Trilateral Security Agreement that Iran signed with Russia and China - I believe that Russia will suspend further negotiations with the United States and Ukraine. I continue to believe that the only path to peace and security for Russia is through a military defeat of Ukraine and NATO. The Russians remain open to finding a negotiated settlement to the war, but a critical condition is that NATO must move west, not east."
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