Vladimir Putin finalises ‘annexation’ in Ukraine even as Russian troops flee front
- Russia’s president also ordered the state to seize control Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia
- Kyiv’s forces have recently recaptured swathes of territory, meaning Moscow does not fully control any of areas it claims
President Vladimir Putin signed a law to incorporate four partially occupied Ukrainian regions into Russia on Wednesday, in what Kyiv called the act of a “collective madhouse” at a time when Russia’s forces have been fleeing from the front lines.
The new law would incorporate around 18 per cent of Ukraine’s territory into Russia, equivalent to the area of Portugal, in Europe’s biggest annexation since World War Two.
Russia does not fully control any of the four provinces it claims to have annexed, however, and Moscow has yet to demarcate what it now asserts to be Russia’s new borders.
Ukrainian forces have recaptured thousands of square kilometres of territory since the start of September, including dozens of settlements in just the past few days.
A map of Russia’s “new regions” published by state news agency RIA included the full territory of the Ukrainian provinces, but some parts were shaded and labelled as being under Ukrainian military control.
“They will be with Russia forever,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the new regions, adding that settlements recaptured by Ukraine in recent days “will be returned”.