www.zerohedge.com by TYLER DURDEN
Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorized martial law for the four recently annexed territories of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. This in effect gives emergency and extraordinary powers to the heads of these regions, with the Associated Press noting that “additional emergency powers” have also been given to “the heads of all regions of Russia” – though it’s unclear precisely what this means.
The announcement comes the day after the Russian army said it is preparing to evacuate civilians from Kherson, which was the first Ukrainian city to fall to the invasion in February. “The entire administration is already moving today,” Moscow-installed regional head Vladimir Saldo confirmed on Tuesday.
This evacuation order is being widely seen as an admission that the Ukrainian counteroffensive threatening occupied Kherson is gaining rapid momentum, so the Russians could be preparing a massive “scorched earth” bombardment in response. Reports estimate that Russian front lines have been beaten back some 20 to 30 kilometers in the last few weeks alone, and Russian commanders are alarmed they could be backed up against the Dnieper River that bisects Ukraine…
