President Vladimir putin Ordered dramatically tighter security, including restrictions on movement, in areas bordering Ukraine as attacks spread to Russian territory.
Citing attacks in recent weeks in border areas and the bombing of his showcase bridge in Crimea, Putin told a televised meeting of his Security Council that he was ordering a move to most parts of the country. He also extended existing martial-law regimes in the four Ukrainian territories he occupied last month.
The Russian military has lost ground over the past two months to a Ukrainian retaliation that has retaken large areas of territory claimed by Putin to hold. On Wednesday, Russian occupation officials in the southern Ukraine city of Kherson said they had moved from front lines to forward areas as Kyiv troops continued to advance and cut off their supply lines.
Putin’s new measures provide increased security in six regions of Russia near the Ukraine border, as well as Crimea, which he annexed in 2014, underlining how his eight-month-old war has spread. The new rules allow officials to impose limits on movement in and out of areas, temporarily relocate civilians away from war zones, boost “economic mobility” and military production, and give the military increased powers.
According to the text of the presidential order, areas beyond the front lines, including Moscow, may also see unspecified restrictions on movement.
‘trial run’
“Putin’s decree effectively brings several Russian territories on the border with Ukraine to the fringes of the war,” said Carnegie Center’s Alexander Baunov. “This looks like a trial run of the emergency system in several areas that can later be expanded to other areas.”
The governors of the affected areas were quick to mitigate any immediate impact. “At present, no measures are being taken in the city that restrict the normal rhythm of life,” said Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the government was not planning to close the country’s borders as a result of the order, according to the RIA Novosti news service.
Putin said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin would take over a new coordination council to work on security issues at the national level. He said regional governors would have broad powers to deal with protection and support for the families of reservists called up for military service.
Russian occupation officials said they had left Kherson for the east bank of the Dnipro River as Ukrainian forces continued to retaliate in the area. Russia-appointed governor Vladimir Saldo told state television that there were no plans to surrender the city, which was the first regional capital for Russia in the invasion.
The state-run Tass news service reported that Russian officials sent text messages early Wednesday alerting residents of the city and plans to move more than 60,000 people from areas on the western side of Dniepro.
The Russian army is expected to try to retreat to the east bank of the river and place a defensive line there, local council deputy Serhi Khalan, who left the Kherson region, said on TV on Wednesday. “For now we have 29 settlements of the Kherson region already liberated. Together with Kherson we will see the entire right bank of the Kherson region free of occupants,” said Khalan.
Citing attacks in recent weeks in border areas and the bombing of his showcase bridge in Crimea, Putin told a televised meeting of his Security Council that he was ordering a move to most parts of the country. He also extended existing martial-law regimes in the four Ukrainian territories he occupied last month.
The Russian military has lost ground over the past two months to a Ukrainian retaliation that has retaken large areas of territory claimed by Putin to hold. On Wednesday, Russian occupation officials in the southern Ukraine city of Kherson said they had moved from front lines to forward areas as Kyiv troops continued to advance and cut off their supply lines.
Putin’s new measures provide increased security in six regions of Russia near the Ukraine border, as well as Crimea, which he annexed in 2014, underlining how his eight-month-old war has spread. The new rules allow officials to impose limits on movement in and out of areas, temporarily relocate civilians away from war zones, boost “economic mobility” and military production, and give the military increased powers.
According to the text of the presidential order, areas beyond the front lines, including Moscow, may also see unspecified restrictions on movement.
‘trial run’
“Putin’s decree effectively brings several Russian territories on the border with Ukraine to the fringes of the war,” said Carnegie Center’s Alexander Baunov. “This looks like a trial run of the emergency system in several areas that can later be expanded to other areas.”
The governors of the affected areas were quick to mitigate any immediate impact. “At present, no measures are being taken in the city that restrict the normal rhythm of life,” said Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the government was not planning to close the country’s borders as a result of the order, according to the RIA Novosti news service.
Putin said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin would take over a new coordination council to work on security issues at the national level. He said regional governors would have broad powers to deal with protection and support for the families of reservists called up for military service.
Russian occupation officials said they had left Kherson for the east bank of the Dnipro River as Ukrainian forces continued to retaliate in the area. Russia-appointed governor Vladimir Saldo told state television that there were no plans to surrender the city, which was the first regional capital for Russia in the invasion.
The state-run Tass news service reported that Russian officials sent text messages early Wednesday alerting residents of the city and plans to move more than 60,000 people from areas on the western side of Dniepro.
The Russian army is expected to try to retreat to the east bank of the river and place a defensive line there, local council deputy Serhi Khalan, who left the Kherson region, said on TV on Wednesday. “For now we have 29 settlements of the Kherson region already liberated. Together with Kherson we will see the entire right bank of the Kherson region free of occupants,” said Khalan.