JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin signs annexation laws, plowing ahead with a parallel reality as Russia loses ground in Ukraine” – New York Times
“… Putin signed more than 400 pages of legislation annexing four Ukrainian regions … forging ahead with a parallel reality in which Russia pretends to exercise sovereignty over thousands of square miles … that its military does not actually control. Russia’s economy ministry sought to attach real-world benefits to a largely illusory claim, forecasting that … annexation would raise Russia’s production of metallurgy and sunflowers by 20 percent each, … coal production … by 6 percent. … RIA Novosti released a map purporting to show Russia’s new territory, adding in fine print that part of it was ‘under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.’ … Russian state television trumpeted the signing … as the day’s biggest news story … playing down or ignoring the fact that Russian forces are in retreat in multiple parts of the front line. …”