Putin tries to tighten grip on areas he annexed
Russian President Vladimir Putin imposed martial law Wednesday in four Ukrainian territories illegally annexed by Moscow last month, signaling an intensifying effort to achieve his war objectives. It opened another dark chapter for thousands of Ukrainians living under military occupation.
Martial law gives Russia’s military and proxy authorities broad powers of arrest and detention in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. The decree is based on the premise that Russian territory is under attack – although the annexation of the four regions was a violation of international law and condemned by a U.N. vote.
Putin said the four regions had been under martial law before Russia claimed to have annexed and absorbed them earlier this month. “We now need to legalize this state in accordance with Russian legislation,” he said.
Because residents in occupied areas had already been living under draconian restrictions, Putin’s declaration seemed at least partly designed for a domestic audience, including prowar hawks who have criticized Russia’s military failures.
Putin’s decree followed 10 days of sustained airstrikes and drone attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, part of a clear shift in strategy by Moscow, which is aiming to compensate for battlefield losses with superior long-range missile power and a vast fleet of Iranian-made attack drones.
The developments confront Kyiv and its Western backers with yet another test of their resolve. NATO powers, including the United States, have promised to rush additional air defense systems to Ukraine, hoping to thwart Russia’s goal of leaving Ukraine without electricity or heat as winter looms.