By bne IntelliNews Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has annexed the largest piece of territory in Europe since those taken by Nazi Germany’s leader Adolf Hitler. In a televised address on September 30, Putin proclaimed the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya to be part of Russia. The annexation was largely expected after Putin responded to the successful Ukrainian counter-offensive by spearheading sham referenda in the four regions, as well as escalating the war in Ukraine with nuclear threats and calling a “partial” mobilisation of Russian conscripts. The formal s…