Russian President Vladimir Putin declared martial law on Wednesday in the four regions of Ukraine that Moscow annexed last month while ordering all of Russia to support the war effort.
He also granted additional emergency powers to the heads of all regions of Russia to come into effect on Thursday.
His decree gives law enforcement agencies three days to submit specific proposals and orders the creation of territorial defence forces in the four annexed regions.
Russia annexed Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine and in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south, following disputed votes there.
“We are working to solve very difficult large-scale tasks to ensure Russia’s security and safe future, to protect our people,” Mr Putin said in televised remarks at the start of a Security Council meeting on Wednesday.
“Those who are on the front lines or undergoing training at firing ranges and training centres should feel our support and know that they have our big, great country and unified people behind their back.”
The upper house of Russia's Parliament was set to quickly seal Mr Putin’s decision to impose martial law in the annexed regions.
Draft legislation indicates it may involve restrictions on travel and public gatherings, tighter censorship and broader authority for law enforcement agencies.
Mr Putin has not yet provided details of the extra powers to be given to the heads of Russian regions under his decree.
“In the current situation, I consider it necessary to give additional powers to heads of all Russian regions,” he said.
The Russian leader also ordered the establishment of a co-ordination committee to increase interaction between various government agencies in dealing with the fighting in Ukraine — which he and other officials continue to call a “special military operation”.
“Putin’s decree in effect brings several Russian regions on the border with Ukraine into the perimeter of the war,” said Alexander Baunov of the Carnegie Centre.
“It looks like a trial run of emergency mechanisms in several regions that can then be expanded to other territories.”
Governors of the affected regions were quick to play down any immediate impact.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, “at present, no measures that would restrict the normal rhythm of life in the city are being imposed.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Mr Putin’s order does not envisage the closure of Russia's borders, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Earlier on Wednesday, the new commander of Russian forces in Ukraine made a rare acknowledgement of the pressures they were under from Ukrainian offensives to retake southern and eastern areas that Moscow says it annexed just weeks ago.
“The situation in the area of the special military operation can be described as tense,” Gen Sergei Surovikin told the state-owned Rossiya 24 news channel.
On Kherson, Gen Surovikin said: “The situation in this area is difficult. The enemy is deliberately striking infrastructure and residential buildings.”
Russian forces in the Kherson region have been driven back up to 30 kilometres in the past few weeks and are at risk of being pinned against the western bank of the 2,200km Dnipro river that bisects Ukraine.
Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Russian-installed council governing Zaporizhzhia, said Ukraine's forces had intensified overnight shelling of Russian-held Enerhodar — the town where many employees of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station live.
Artillery fire had hit the town's outskirts and there had been 10 strikes around a thermal power station, he said on the Telegram messaging app on Wednesday.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian-installed chief of Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said about 60,000 people would be evacuated in the next six days.
The city of Kherson had a pre-war population of around 280,000 people but many of them have since fled.
He said up to 40 per cent of civilians in the Kherson region were being moved to steer clear of the fighting.
“No one is going to hand over Kherson," he said.
"But it is not ideal for residents to be in the city where hostilities will take place."
Kherson is the biggest population centre Moscow has seized and held since it began its "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said less than a month had passed “since the pompous announcement of Kherson annexation and solemn concert on the Red Square, as the self-proclaimed 'city administration' … ceremoniously evacuates in anticipation of Ukrainian justice. Reality can hurt if you live in a fictional fantasy world”.
A senior Ukrainian official accused Russia of organising a “propaganda show” in Kherson.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president's office, also accused Russia of “trying to scare the people of Kherson with fake newsletters about the shelling of the city by our army, and also arrange a propaganda show with evacuation”.
“Propaganda will not work,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Henderson, Pickford, Pope.
Defenders Alexander-Arnold, Chilwell, Coady, Dier, Gomez, Keane, Maguire, Maitland-Niles, Mings, Saka, Trippier, Walker.
Midfielders Henderson, Mount, Phillips, Rice, Ward-Prowse, Winks.
Forwards Abraham, Barnes, Calvert-Lewin, Grealish, Ings, Kane, Rashford, Sancho, Sterling.
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
Managing the separation process
- Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
- Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
- Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
- If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
- The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
- Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
- Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
