• Vladimir Putin declared martial law in occupied Ukraine, handing him sweeping new powers over civilians 
• Comes after officials ordered evacuation from occupied Kherson, as Ukraine’s forces push to re-take city 
• If Putin’s army is forced to flee the city, it would be the most humiliating defeat it has yet suffered in Ukraine 
• Fears are growing that Putin may be plotting a nuclear show of force over the Black Sea to save his invasion

Vladimir Putin has declared martial law in the occupied regions of Ukraine as officials began evacuating civilians from the city of Kherson, with a battle for control of the stronghold now looming.

Putin said the order will come into effect from midnight in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions – giving him sweeping powers to curtail the freedoms of civilians, repurpose industries, and press-gang Ukrainians into his armed forces to fight their fellow countrymen, though it is unclear if all these powers will be used.

The order also affects occupied Crimea and Krasnodar, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, and Rostov, all of which are on Russia’s own territory bordering Ukraine. It is unclear exactly what measures will come into force here, though Putin’s order stops short of calling it full martial law.

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