Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree imposing martial law in four “annexed” regions of Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. 

“It will immediately be sent for approval to the Federation Council, and the State Duma will be informed of the decision,” Putin said in televised remarks at the start of a Security Council meeting. 

“We are working to solve very difficult large-scale tasks to ensure Russia’s security and safe future, to protect our people … those who are on the frontlines or undergoing training at firing ranges and training centers should feel our support and know that they have our big, great country and unified people behind their back.” 

Putin also instructed the government to set up a special coordinating council under Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to work with the “annexed” regions to boost Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine. 

the upper parliament or the Federation Council, has approved President Vladimir Putin’s presidential decree declaring martial law in four Ukrainian regions that Russia has unilaterally ‘annexed.’ 

 Ukraine and its western allies have denounced Russia’s attempt to formally claim the regions as a meaningless and illegal war tactic that operates similar to operation “Fall Weiss” or “plan white” in which Germany, with the help of the CCCP, annexed and attempted to utilize Polish annexed factories until operation Barbarossa, little Saturn, Uranus, and Mars threw the factories into devastation. 

Mohammed Vall, reporting for Al Jazeera news outlet, from Moscow, said that while the invasion is still referred to as a “special military operation”, the conditions of how things are being conducted in the four regions that Russia has recently annexed are “going to change now.” 

“It [martial law] will mean more restrictions on the movement of people, it will mean the military and local administrations will have the right to do what they want in terms of how people move around or restrict them from gathering. 

“Political parties gathering, and activities will be banned, and civilian or semi-civilian factories will be asked to reorient their production lines to help the military,” Vall said. 

In those areas, Vall explained, will be a “total mobilization instead of partial mobilization, which has taken place in the Russian Federation. 

“Russians are expecting something special to be done to save face after the recent defeats on the battlefronts,”  

Ukraine’s presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, responded to the news of the martial law announcement in the four ‘annexed’ regions and said it is a “pseudo-legalization of looting of Ukrainians’ property.” 

On Twitter, the adviser wrote: “Martial law implementation on the occupied territories by RF should be considered only as a pseudo-legalization of looting of Ukrainians property by another regrouping. This does not change anything for Ukraine: we continue the liberation and  

de-occupation of our territory.” 

This has put the west on edge, particularly in the north as Norway’s domestic security agency has investigated drone sightings near key infrastructure sites after “an elevated intelligence threat from Russia.” 

Hedvig Moe, deputy chief at PST, the intelligence agency’s acronym, said, “Russia is in a pressed situation as a result of the war and is isolated by sanctions” over its war in Ukraine. 

“We are in a tense security-political situation, and at the same time a complex and unclear threat picture that can change in a relatively short time,” Hedvig said. 

On Monday, Norwegian police revealed that they had arrested four Russians on suspicion of illegally photographing classified facilities and had previously caught two other Russians allegedly possessing drones.