New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday declared martial law in the regions in Ukraine that Moscow said it annexed last month, news agency AFP reported.
In a televised address to the members of his Security Council, President Putin also instructed the government to set up a special coordinating council under Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to work with Russia's regions to boost Moscow's war effort in Ukraine.
The regions where the martial law has been declared include Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.
“In this regard, let me remind you that in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Luhansk People’s Republic, as well as in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, martial law was in effect before joining Russia. Now we need to formalize this regime within the framework of Russian legislation. Therefore, I signed a decree on the introduction of martial law in these four subjects of the Russian Federation, so it will be immediately sent to the Federation Council,” a report by CNN quoted Putin as saying.
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It is to be noted that the developments, nearly eight months into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, marked the latest escalation by Putin to counter a series of major defeats at the hands of Ukrainian forces since the start of September.
The moves came on the same day that officials deployed by Russia in Kherson, one of the four occupied regions, told civilians to leave some areas as soon as possible in anticipation of an imminent Ukrainian attack.
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President Putin said that the measures he was ordering would increase the stability of the economy, industry and production in support of what Russia calls its special military operation.