Russian President Vladimir Putin has formalized the annexation of four Ukrainian regions despite major battlefield reversals in recent days.
The Associated PressRussian President Vladimir Putin gestures during a meeting outside Moscow on Wednesday, the same day he signed laws formalizing the annexation of large swaths of Ukraine.
Peskov did not specify which additional Ukrainian territories Moscow is eyeing for attempted annexation, and he wouldn't say if the Kremlin planned to organize more such "referendums." Thousands of Russian troops fled their positions after the front line crumbled — first in the northeast and, since the start of this week, in the south.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions of Ukrainians have fled their homes and their country since Putin ordered Russia's invasion on Feb. 24.The annexation is Europe's biggest since the Second World War and represents up to 18 per cent of Ukraine, some of which Moscow's forces do not control. If Crimea is added, which Russia annexed in 2014, Moscow is laying claim to 22 per cent of Ukraine, though it has yet to spell out where all of the borders will be located.
Destroyed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles are shown Wednesday in the recently liberated town of Lyman, Ukraine. However, the Ukrainian military said the Ukrainian flag had been raised above multiple villages in the Kherson region previously occupied by the Russians. In his nightly address, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had liberated three more settlements in the region on Wednesday.
The unmanned vehicles can stay aloft for long periods of time before diving into targets and detonating their payloads at the last moment.
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