Ukraine live briefing: Moscow to finalize illegal annexation of Ukrainian regions.
Russian lawmakers are poised to finalize the illegal takeover of four Ukrainian regions this week, with annexation documents expected to pass through both houses of Russia’s rubber-stamp parliament Monday and Tuesday.
Ukraine on Sunday celebrated the retaking of Lyman, saying the key logistics hub in the Donetsk region was completely “cleared of the Russian occupiers” as of midday local time. Russian forces’ retreat from Lyman and other recent setbacks have led to unusually open criticism of the Russian military on hard-line pro-Kremlin Telegram channels.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Key developments
- Russia’s so-called treaties on annexation are expected to pass this week. Both houses of Russia’s parliament are expected to approve the documents Monday and Tuesday, after which Russia will consider the annexation of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk to be complete. Western leaders have referred to last month’s orchestrated annexation vote as a “sham.
- ”Annexation means Donetsk and Luhansk forces would be incorporated into the Russian military, the Russian ruble would be introduced, and Ukrainians could become Russian citizens, after an oath of loyalty to Russia, said Pavel Krasheninnikov, the chairman of the State Duma committee on construction and legislation.
Prosecutors would be appointed and Russia’s judicial system would be imposed, he said.
- The town of Lyman, which Russian troops used as a key logistics hub in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region since their arrival this spring, was completely “cleared of the Russian occupiers” as of midday local time, the Defense Ministry said on Twitter. In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the “successes of our soldiers are not limited to Lyman,” referencing other liberated settlements without naming them. Western military leaders and analysts said Russia’s retreat showed how weak the Kremlin’s forces are, and underscored that Russia is destined to fail in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at a concert on Friday in Moscow to mark the annexation of four regions of Ukraine. (Maksim Blinov/Sputnik/Pool/Reuters)
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Battleground updates
Russian officials are probably struggling to provide training and find officers to lead new units amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilization, the British Defense Ministry said Monday in a Twitter update, noting dysfunction in the effort’s first week. “Local officials are likely unclear on the exact scope and legal rationale of the campaign,” it said. Rockets struck the city of Zaporizhzhia and two nearby villages early Monday, the regional governor, Oleksandr Starukh, reported on Telegram. The strikes damaged infrastructure facilities, he said, and injured one person.