Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law to incorporate four partially occupied Ukrainian regions into Russia on Wednesday, in what Kyiv called the act of a "collective madhouse" at a time when Russia's forces have been fleeing from the front lines. The new law would incorporate around 18% of Ukraine's territory into Russia, equivalent to the area of Portugal, in Europe's biggest annexation since World War Two. Russia does not fully control any of the four provinces it claims to have annexed, however, and Moscow has yet to demarcate what it now asserts to be Russia's new borders. Ukrainian forces have recaptured thousands of square miles of territory since the start of September, including dozens of settlements in just the past few days. As Ukraine expands its counteroffensive, FRANCE 24 is joined by Anna Borshchevskaya, Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute's Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Program on Great Power Competition and the Middle East, focusing on Russia's policy toward the Middle East.
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