Defiant Putin proclaims Ukrainian annexation as military setback looms

A view shows a screen, set up ahead of an expected ceremony and concert to declare four Ukraine's self-proclaimed regions part of Russia following recent referendums, near St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower in central Moscow, Russia September 29, 2022. A slogan on the screen reads: "Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson - Russia!" REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (Reuters) -A defiant Vladimir Putin proclaimed Russia's annexation of a swathe of Ukraine in a pomp-filled Kremlin ceremony, promising Moscow would triumph in its "special military operation" even as he faced a potentially serious new military reversal.

The proclamation of Russian rule over 15% of Ukraine - the biggest annexation in Europe since World War Two - was roundly rejected by Ukraine and Western countries as illegal. The United States, Britain and Canada announced new sanctions.