President Vladimir Putin will begin annexing four Ukrainian regions to Russia on Friday, a move the United Nations warned would mark a "dangerous escalation" and jeopardise prospects for peace, while Kyiv warned it would elicit a harsh response.
Moscow's planned annexation of 15% of Ukraine's territory, after what Kyiv and Western countries say were phoney referendums staged at gunpoint in Russian-occupied areas, shows Putin doubling down on his war despite suffering a major reversal on the battlefield this month and discontent at home over a widely criticised partial military mobilisation.
