Russian authorities ordered the evacuation of 50,000 from the southern Ukrainian town of Kherson occupied by Russians, as fighting around the city intensifies on October 19. On the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin declared martial law in four Ukrainian regions that Moscow annexed in faux referenda at the end of September, adding to the expectations of a Russian counter-offensive to push back advancing Ukrainian troops. ‘I signed a decree to introduce martial law in these four subjects of the Russian Federation,’ Putin said during a televised meeting of Russia’s Security Council, refer…
