Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday officially completed the formal annexation of over 15 percent of Ukraine despite his forces being pushed back across large tracts of the claimed territory. In the biggest land grab in Europe since World War II, Putin signed laws deeming the Luhansk People’s Republic, Donetsk People’s Republic, Kherson region and Zaporizhzhia region as parts of Russia. The ratification comes after residents in those provinces were forced at gunpoint to take part in sham referendums on the question of formally joining the Russian Federation, the results of which were never in doubt. The regions have been annexed despite not being under the full control of Russia, with Ukrainian counter-offensives in recent days achieving some of the most significant battlefield victories since the start of the invasion.