Putin signs Ukraine annexation laws amid military setbacks
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed the final papers to annex four regions of Ukraine - even as his military suffered further setbacks.
The Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions are "accepted into the Russian Federation" the documents say.
But in two of those areas - Luhansk and Kherson - Ukraine said it has been retaking more villages.
Mr Putin also signed a decree to formalise Russia's seizure of the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia.
Last Friday, the Russian leader held a grand ceremony in the Kremlin, where he signed agreements with the Moscow-installed leaders of the four regions.
The move followed self-proclaimed referendums in the areas, denounced as a "sham" by the West.
But on the ground there appears to be a different reality, with Ukrainian forces making gains in both the south and the east.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63149156