Putin declares martial law in Ukraine's four annexed regions

Putin announced on Wednesday, October 19, that he is declaring martial law in the four regions he invaded in Ukraine on September 30. It will go into effect on Thursday in the Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic, Zaporiyia and Kherson regions, as the Kremlin notes in a document published on its website.

This is a new mandate requires the Russian military force to directly control all operations usually carried out by the governments of these regions. The decree has yet to be ratified and has no end date. Putin intends to guarantee security and maintain public order, as well as ensure "anti-terrorist protection of critical facilities,” as he assured at a National Security Council meeting.

This measure is an extension of what was already imposed by the Kremlin when it annexed the Ukrainian regions, where it declared a "partial" mobilization. They also recruited soldiers for the war against Ukraine when Kiev began to take back some of the territories already won by Russia at the beginning of the war.

What is Russian martial law?

The announcement comes days after Russia continued to bomb parts of Ukraine with Iranian drones and many other attacks that have taken place over the last several days in the Kherson area; precisely one of the areas where martial law will be implemented. This regulation would allow the Russian government not only to allow military force to directly control government operations, but also to enforce curfews, limit movements among citizens, occupy telecommunications facilities, or prohibit protests and citizen rallies, among many other restrictions.

According to the Russian leader, he has to impose these limits because of Ukraine: "The Kiev regime has refused to recognize the will of the people, rejects any proposal for negotiations, the shooting continues, and civilians are dying," Putin said during a meeting where he also took the opportunity to condemn that Ukraine is using terrorist methods.