Ukraine’s foreign ministry has condemned the decree as a “new state of terror” aimed to “to suppress the resistance” of those regions’ residents. Russia does not control the entirety of those regions and is in a hasty retreat in Kherson after Ukrainian forces regained territory there. The regions are Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk. Vladimir Saldo, the region’s Moscow-installed head, said: “It’s better to evacuate people in case the fighting starts to involve artillery shelling and bombing of the city, and that’s what we are doing now.Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law Wednesday introducing martial law in four Ukrainian regions the Kremlin claims to have annexed, in violation of international law, along with a separate order imposing restrictions on movement in and out of eight Russian regions adjoining Ukraine. But in many cases, the only routes out are to Russia. Moscow-backed authorities have said evacuations from occupied territories are voluntary. Leaflets told evacuees that they could take the weight equivalent of two large suitcases, medicines and food for a few days. Text messages warned residents to expect shelling and said buses were being prepared for them to leave, Russian state media reported. Residents could be seen on Russian state television crowding on the Dnieper’s banks, many with small children, to cross by boats to the east – and, from there, deeper into Russian-controlled territory. What had previously been a trickle of evacuations from the city in recent days was becoming a flood. The battle for the city is a pivotal moment for both Ukraine and Russia heading into winter, when cold and difficult conditions could largely freeze front lines until the spring thaw. Ukraine’s stunning counter-offensive appears to be bearing down on Kherson, a southern city of more than 250,000 people, with industries and a major port on the Dnieper River. The move could lead to a clampdown on anti-war dissent, censorship of the free press and a further erosion of human rights, with civil liberties suspended. The decree will also provide for “temporary resettlement of residents to safe areas with the obligatory provision of such residents with stationary or temporary living quarters” and restrict free movement in and out of certain areas for people and vehicles. The martial law will give Russian authorities powers to carry out “mobilisation measures in the economic sphere” as well as well as “protection of the population and territories from natural and man-made emergencies”, according to the official government document. “We are working on solving very complex, large-scale tasks to ensure a reliable future for Russia, the future of our people,” he said. Mr Putin said 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”. What does martial law mean for the occupied regions? However, in this case, Russia is using it to attempt to gain greater control of the regions it has illegally annexed.
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