South Ossetia, a region in the country of Georgia whose northern boundary borders Russia, has set a vote to join the country on July 17, fulfilling a statement its leader made in March to take the legal steps necessary to join the country, according to the Associated Press.

“We did it!” South Ossetian leader Anatoly Bibilov wrote. “In legalese, we fulfilled yet another important legal requirement. And in normal language, we took a life-changing step — we are going home, we are going to Russia.”

Russia has exercised effective control over South Ossetia since fighting a brief war with Georgia in 2008. Most of the world considers the region to be a part of Georgia, but a few countries, including Russia, view it as an independent state.

Georgia and Moldova, another nation with a history of territorial disputes with Russia, submitted applications to join the European Union on March 3, just a week after Russia invaded Ukraine.