President Vladimir V. Putin signed more than 400 pages of legislation annexing four Ukrainian regions, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, forging ahead with a parallel reality in which Russia pretends to exercise sovereignty over thousands of square miles of territory that its military does not actually control.

Russia’s economy ministry sought to attach real-world benefits to a largely illusory claim, forecasting that the annexation would raise Russia’s production of metallurgy and sunflowers by 20 per cent each, while coal production would increase by 6 per cent.

The state news agency RIA Novosti released a map purporting to show Russia’s new territory, adding in fine print that part of it was “under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”.

And Russian state TV trumpeted the signing as the day’s biggest news story.

“The only currency unit starting on January 1, 2023, will be the rouble, and the territorial organs of the federal authorities will be created by June 1,” intoned the Channel 1 anchor.

New York Times News Service