President Vladimir Putin introduced martial law in four Ukrainian regions that has been annexed by Russia. This is as some residents of the occupied city of Kherson left by boat following warnings of a looming assault.

The images of people fleeing Kherson were broadcast by Russian state TV which portrayed the exodus – from the right to left bank of the River Dnipro – as an attempt to clear the city of civilians before it became a combat zone.

Beyond much tighter security measures on the ground, it was unclear what the immediate impact of that would be.

Kyiv, which does not recognise Moscow’s self-styled annexations of the four regions, ridiculed the move.