Putin declares martial law for the illegally annexed Ukrainian regions

Russian President Putin has announced that martial law will apply tomorrow in the newly annexed Ukrainian regions. This concerns the occupied areas in Donbas and the regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson. Crimea is not mentioned.

It means that the occupied territories will come under the strictest control of the Kremlin. Martial law gives the military more power and limits civilian freedoms.

It is still not entirely clear what exactly will change. Several ministries and government organizations have three days to submit proposals. Measures that can be taken under martial law include deportations, censorship, school closures, phone monitoring and wiretapping, and the imposition of travel bans.

Via a video link to the Security Council, Putin explained that martial law was already in place in the areas before they “joined Russia”. “Now we have to formalize this according to Russian law. That’s why I signed a decree on the introduction of martial law in these four areas of the Russian Federation,” Putin said. The decree has yet to be approved by the Federation Council.

There is also a “state of alert” for eight Russian regions bordering Ukraine. It becomes more difficult for people to travel in and out of those regions and there are additional police checks. These include Belgorod, Krasnodar and Kursk.