Putin to annex seized Ukrainian land, U.N. warns of 'dangerous escalation'

Firefighters and Ukrainian army soldiers search for bodies of people killed during a Russian attack, among the remains of a building beside a TV tower, in the recently liberated town of Izium, Kharkiv region, Ukraine September 28, 2022. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra

LONDON (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin will begin annexing four Ukrainian regions to Russia on Friday, a move the United Nations warned would mark a "dangerous escalation" and jeopardise prospects for peace, while Kyiv warned it would elicit a harsh response.

Moscow's planned annexation of 15% of Ukraine's territory, after what Kyiv and Western countries say were phoney referendums staged at gunpoint in Russian-occupied areas, shows Putin doubling down on his war despite suffering a major reversal on the battlefield this month and discontent at home over a widely criticised partial military mobilisation.