Protests as Russia claims emissions in annexed Ukraine regions

BAKU, Azerbaijan - Russia has included the territories it occupies in Ukraine in its recent greenhouse gas inventory report to the UN, drawing protests from Kyiv officials and activists at the COP29 climate summit this week.

The move by Moscow comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin eyes potential peace deal negotiations with US President-elect Donald Trump that could decide the fate of vast swathes of territory.

"We see that Russia is using international platforms to legalise their actions, to legalise their occupation of our territory," Ukraine's Deputy Environment Minister Olga Yukhymchuk said.

She said Ukraine is in touch with officials from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN's main climate body, to ask it to resolve the dispute.

At issue is Russia's national inventory report of greenhouse gas emissions for 2022, which Moscow submitted to the UNFCCC on Nov 8.