As the war intensifies, his decree orders the creation of territorial defense forces in the four annexed regions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday formally declared martial law in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, the Ukrainian regions that he illegally annexed last month.
Noting that martial law had already been in effect in the occupied Ukrainian regions prior to their annexation, Putin said in a nationally televised address that “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,” the Russian leader said.
