Putin signs laws to annex 4 Ukrainian regions into Russia
Putin signs laws to annex 4 Ukrainian regions into Russia
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Putin signs laws to annex 4 Ukrainian regions into Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow in September. Photo: Gavriil Grigorov/ Sputnik/ AFP via Getty Images Russian signed laws Wednesday claiming the annexation of Ukraine's Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions into Russia. Why it matters: Russian officials have said the four annexed regions would have hinting that nuclear weapons may be an option. their Kremlin counterparts about the "catastrophic consequences" of such action. The big picture: The four regions Putin claims to have annexed make up 15% of Ukraine. However, his forces don't fully control any of those regions and they've continued to lose territory there to Ukraine's military, according to . Driving the news: Russia's lower house of Parliament announced in a statement that Putin had signed the laws, a day after both Russian houses voted to ratify the annexations in the Russian-occupied areas — which Ukrainian and Western officials State of play: The British Ministry of Defense said in an on Wednesday, the 224th day of war, that Ukrainian forces were continuing to advance along both the northeastern and southern fronts — making key gains in the Kharkiv region in particular.Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Tuesday night the Ukrainian Army had carried out a "fast and powerful advance" in the south. "Dozens of settlements have already been liberated from the Russian sham referendum this week alone," Zelensky said. "In Kherson region, Kharkiv region, Luhansk region and Donetsk region altogether." Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry made no mention of territorial losses in a Tuesday video briefing, but it featured maps showing Putin's forces no longer controlled several areas they previously held in the Kherson and Kharkiv regions, notes. What we're watching: While it was not immediately clear where the Kremlin regards the borders of the newly claimed territories to be, Axios' notes it will now deem the battles in the four regions to be taking place . Go deeper: Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.