Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed laws absorbing four Ukrainian regions into Russia. The move finalises the annexation of the regions into Russia in defiance of international law.
Both of houses of Russian parliament have also ratified the treaties to include the Ukrainian regions into Russia. The four regions include Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Read more: Ukraine reports rapid push back of Russian troops in south, east
The move by the Russian parliament and Vladimir Putin followed Kremlin-backed “referendums” in the regions which were rejected by Ukraine and the West as sham.
Earlier today, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv's military had made major and rapid advances against Moscow's forces in the past week. Ukraine has taken back dozens of towns in the south and east that Russia has declared annexed.
"This week alone, since the Russian pseudo-referendum, dozens of population centres have been liberated. These are in Kherson, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk regions all together," Zelensky said.
Russian forces in the Donetsk and Kherson regions have been forced to retreat and are struggling to fight the increasingly Western-equipped Ukrainian army.
"In some areas of the front line it was possible to extend the area we hold from between 10 to 20 km," the southern Operational Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) said on Wednesday.
{{/usCountry}}"In some areas of the front line it was possible to extend the area we hold from between 10 to 20 km," the southern Operational Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) said on Wednesday.
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