Russia vs Ukraine: Putin declares martial law in occupied Ukrainian regions

Russian President Vladimir Putin has today introduced martial law in four Ukrainian regions saying Russia has annexed.

This comes as some residents of the occupied city of Kherson left by boat following warnings of a looming assault by Ukrainian forces.

“We are working on solving very complex, large-scale tasks to ensure a reliable future for Russia, the future of our people,” Putin said in televised remarks to members of his security council.

Putin’s special military operation has not gone as he had planned and as a result of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, Russia has been losing territory it had occupied.

The four Ukrainian regions the Russian president claims to have annexed include Luhank, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

To carry out Putin’s martial law, all regional governors have been ordered to set up “operational headquarters”. These will include the heads of each region, representatives of the military and the police.