LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin will sign documents on Friday proclaiming Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions, as Moscow rushes to lock in territorial claims that the Ukrainian army is threatening to reverse on the battlefield.
The move, one of the legal steps Russia says will lead to formal annexation of 15% of Ukraine's territory, confirms that Putin is doubling down on his war against Ukraine despite suffering a major military reversal this month.
The annexation, after what Kyiv and Western countries say were phoney referendums staged at gunpoint on Russian-held Ukrainian territory, has been rejected in the West as an illegal seizure of land captured in war.
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy summoned his security and defence chiefs for an emergency meeting to be held on Friday, and promised a robust response to a step he says has killed off chances of reviving peace talks.