Putin's martial law move "desperate tactic" to assert control - U.S. official

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move to declare martial law in the occupied regions of Ukraine is a “desperate tactic” of the Kremlin regime seeking to assert control of these areas.

That’s according to a senior U.S. presidential administration official, who spoke with CNN, Ukrinform reports.

The U.S. is not surprised that Putin has resorted to such a step, the official added.

“Putin’s latest announcement doesn’t change the fact that Russia has no legitimate claims over sovereign Ukrainian territory, and that US officials are tracking how Ukrainians are already rejecting Putin’s latest move,” the report reads.

Read also: Putin’s decree on ‘martial law’ is another crime of Russian leadership against Ukraine - MFA

U.S. support for Ukrainians defending their sovereignty “remains unchanged and continues,” the official stressed.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on October 19, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin signed a decree introducing martial law in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine – the puppet "DPR" and "LPR", as well as parts of Kherson and Zaporizhia regions captured by the Russian invasion forces.