KYIV: Russian President Vladimir Putin formalised the annexation of four Ukrainian regions on Wednesday despite major battlefield reversals in recent days shrinking the amount of seized territory Moscow controls.
Russia has escalated its seven-month war with the annexation drive, a military mobilisation and warnings of a possible recourse to nuclear weapons to protect all of its territory.
Putin has now signed off on a law formally incorporating the four regions, representing about 18% of Ukraine's territory, into Russia, the state-owned TASS news agency reported on Wednesday morning.
The Russian leader's signature was the final stage in the legislative process; the two chambers of Russia's parliament have already ratified the plan.
Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia's attempted annexation is an illegal land grab and will never be recognised with Ukraine saying its army will recapture any territory occupied by Russian forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday night that his military had made major, rapid advances against Russian forces in the past week, taking back dozens of towns in regions in the south and east that Russia has declared annexed.
"This week alone, since the Russian pseudo-referendum, dozens of population centres have been liberated. These are in Kherson, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk regions all together," Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy named eight small towns in Kherson in the south as recently having been recaptured. Reuters could not independently verify his statements.
Russia does not fully control any of the four regions it claims - Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine and Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south - and the Kremlin has said it has yet to determine the final borders of the annexed territory.
Andriy Yermak, head of Zelenskiy's office, reiterated the Ukrainian position on annexation. Referring on Telegram to what he called a "collective madhouse", he said: "Worthless decisions by a terrorist country are not worth the paper they are signed on."
RUSSIANS DIG IN
Russian forces in the Donetsk and Kherson regions, who have been forced to retreat in recent days, have dug in at new positions where they hope to halt the Ukrainian advance.
Moscow moved to annex those regions after holding what it called referendums over several days from Sept. 23 – votes that were denounced by Kyiv and Western governments as illegal and coercive.
A video released by the Ukraine defence ministry on Tuesday appeared to show the Ukrainian flag being raised over one of those communities, Davydiv Brid, in Kherson.
Russian defence ministry maps presented on Tuesday also appeared to show rapid withdrawals of Russian forces from areas in eastern and southern Ukraine where they have been under severe pressure from the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
In the east, Ukrainian forces have been expanding an offensive after capturing the main Russian bastion in the north of Donetsk, the town of Lyman.
"In some areas of the front line it was possible to extend the area we hold from between 10 to 20 km," the southern Operational Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) said on Wednesday.
Russian forces were destroying their reserves of ammunition and trying to destroy bridges and crossings in order to slow the Ukrainian advance, the UAF said in its daily report.
In Kherson, withdrawing Russian forces were planting mines on "infrastructure facilities" and in homes, it said.
In the past 24 hours, Russia had lost 31 servicemen, more than 40 pieces of equipment, including eight tanks, 26 armoured vehicles, and a large calibre howitzer, it said.
Moscow hopes a "partial mobilisation" it announced two weeks ago can help reverse a series of battlefield setbacks with some officials saying they intend to retake territory ceded to Ukraine.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was cited by the RIA news agency on Tuesday as saying that Russia had so far called up more than 200,000 reservists out of a planned 300,000 men.
Many Russian men have fled the country rather than fight in Ukraine, however, and Russian lawyers say they are working flat out to advise men who want to avoid being drafted.
In a boost for Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden told Zelenskiy in a call on Tuesday that the United States would provide Ukraine with $625 million in new security assistance, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers.
READ MORE: Latest development on Ukraine-Russia crisis
Reuters
Wed Oct 05 2022
Putin has now signed off on a law formally incorporating the four regions, representing about 18 pct of Ukraine's territory, into Russia. - AP/Filepic
Motorcycling - Marquez wins Australian MotoGP after intense battle with Martin
The 31-year-old, third in the championship standings, has now won the Australian MotoGP four times in the premier class.
Prabowo takes up Indonesian presidency, vows to tackle corruption, other issues
Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto on Sunday took over as president of the world's third-largest democracy, vowing to combat internal issues
Nepal's Sherpas deserve more, says teenager who scaled world's 14 tallest peaks
Sherpas are known for climbing skills that make them the backbone of mountain expeditions.
Inside the underground lab in China tasked with solving a physics mystery
China will soon collect neutrino data, aiming to unravel one of particle physics' biggest mysteries.
Millions in Cuba still without power as major outage persists
Millions of Cubans remain without electricity because of a prolonged outage at the main power plants on the island, Anadolu Agency reported.
Surge in Gaza violence increases famine risk, monitor says
About 1.84 million people across the besieged Palestinian enclave are living through high levels of acute food insecurity.
Israel pounds Beirut and Gaza after rockets hit Israel's north
A drone was launched at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's holiday home.
Elon Musk promises to award $1 mil each day to a signer of his petition
He awarded a $1 million check to an attendee of his event in Pennsylvania aimed at rallying supporters behind Donald Trump.
Former special forces commander Prabowo to take up Indonesian presidency
Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto will take over as president of the world's third-largest democracy after sweeping the country's election with policies like free meals for school children
Father of Malaysian Islamic banking, Abdul Halim Ismail passes away
His dedication and pioneering spirit played an important role in shaping the journey of Bank Islam as well as leaving a lasting impact on the development of Malaysia's Islamic finance industry.
Zayn Malik postpones US tour dates after One Direction bandmate Liam Payne's death
Payne, 31, died on Wednesday after falling from a third-floor hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires, shocking fans of the boy band.
Why voters in a handful of swing states will decide the US presidential election
The contest will almost certainly be decided by just tens of thousands of voters a tiny fraction of the populace in a handful of states.
INSIGHT - Sudan's war risks 'lost generation' of children
A devastating crisis is unfolding in Sudan, where the most vulnerable members of society children are bearing the brunt of the violence.
Who is Prabowo Subianto, incoming president of Indonesia?
A wealthy ex-general with ties to Indonesia's popular outgoing president and its dictatorial past, looks set to be its next leader.
Trump says he would impose tariffs on China if China went into Taiwan
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would impose additional tariffs on China if China were to "go into Taiwan,"
Iran's supreme leader says Hamas leader's death will not halt 'Axis of Resistance'
The "Axis of Resistance", built up with years of Iranian support, includes Hamas, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, the Houthi movement in Yemen, and various Shi'ite groups in Iraq and Syria.
Putin says Russia willing to seek compromises between Iran and Israel
Russia is ready to help seek compromises between arch-foes Israel and Iran, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, saying these would be difficult but possible.
What proposals will Russia push at the BRICS summit?
The proposal is also to establish a BRICS reinsurance company to allow uninterrupted shipment of goods and key commodities between members.
Indonesia's free meals plan in the spotlight as Prabowo readies for office
Prabowo calls the programme one of the main drivers of economic growth, eventually set to add an estimated 2.5 million jobs.
Astro AWANI's revamped English news website, AWANI International, launches on Oct 21
Astro AWANI's revamped English platform delivers in-depth global news and expert analysis to keep you informed on key developments.