# Understanding the PUPPETS Act of 2022

This bill targets unelected regional governments that Russia and other countries have set up in parts of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia. Specifically, it focuses on entities like the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic in Ukraine, as well as similar breakaway regions in Moldova and Georgia. The bill treats these unelected entities as foreign terrorist organizations under U.S. law, which is a serious legal designation that comes with real consequences.

The practical impact is that the bill restricts how the U.S. government and American companies can interact with these regions. The U.S. military, American-flagged ships, and American airlines are all prohibited from taking actions that would recognize these entities as legitimate governments. For example, a U.S. military aircraft couldn't land in one of these regions in a way that suggests the U.S. accepts its authority. Additionally, any country that recognizes these breakaway regions or provides them material support gets identified in reports to Congress, and those countries face serious penalties: they lose U.S. foreign aid (with exceptions for humanitarian assistance and aid to Ukraine and Taiwan) and can be designated as state sponsors of terrorism, which triggers additional economic sanctions and restrictions.

The bill essentially uses America's legal and economic tools to pressure other nations not to support these unelected regional governments. It's designed to reinforce the U.S. position that these territories belong to Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, and that countries supporting them will face consequences. The law was set to expire on December 31, 2023, making it a temporary measure rather than a permanent policy change.

PUPPETS Act of 2022

Gimenez, Carlos A.

Preventing Usurpation of Power and Privileges by Extralegal Territories' Sedition Act of 2022 or the PUPPETS Act of 2022 This bill designates specified entities as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorist organizations. The bill also prohibits the Department of Defense from taking any action that implies recognition of the sovereignty of such entities over territory or airspace claimed by the governments of Ukraine, Moldova, or Georgia. Entities subject to this bill include any entities holding themselves out to be the governments of any region of Ukraine that was not elected through elections in 2019 or 2020, the Pridnestrovian Moldovian Republic, the Republic of South Ossetia, or the Republic of Abkhazia.