<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed the final papers to annex four regions of Ukraine - even as his military suffered further setbacks.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions are "accepted into the Russian Federation" the documents say.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But in two of those areas - Luhansk and Kherson - Ukraine said it has been retaking more villages.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Putin also signed a decree to formalise Russia's seizure of the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last Friday, the Russian leader held a grand ceremony in the Kremlin, where he signed agreements with the Moscow-installed leaders of the four regions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The move followed self-proclaimed referendums in the areas, denounced as a "sham" by the West.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But on the ground there appears to be a different reality, with Ukrainian forces making gains in both the south and the east.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Serhiy Haidai, Ukrainian governor of Luhansk, told the BBC on Wednesday that six villages in the region had been recaptured.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And President Zelensky later said Ukraine had liberated three more villages in the southern region of Kherson.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That followed a series of gains in Kherson the previous day, including the strategically key village of Davydiv Brid.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, Ukraine says multiple explosions were heard in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia before dawn on Thursday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The governor of the region said rockets were aimed at residential buildings and there had been significant destruction. Rescuers were already pulling bodies from the rubble, he added. The BBC has been unable to verify this.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would retake any territory that had been lost to Ukrainian forces.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Facing questions over the recent losses, he told reporters: "There is no contradiction here. They will be with Russia forever, they will be returned."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a speech to teachers on Russian teachers' day, Mr Putin said he would "calmly develop" the annexed territories.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Andrey Kartopolov, the chairman of the State Duma defence committee, told state media that Russia needed to stop lying about what was happening on the battlefield, saying that Russians were not stupid.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Russia is still working to mobilise reservists, after Mr Putin announced a call-up last month of 300,000 people who had completed compulsory military service.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Mr Putin has rowed back on which groups will be affected, after strong opposition and protests in Russia against the move.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He has signed a decree exempting several categories of students, including first-time students at accredited institutions, and certain types of postgraduate students - such as those in the field of science.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>