ABC News - Russia's parliament asks Putin to recognize breakaway regions in Ukraine
Russia's parliament voted for a law on Tuesday that calls on President Vladimir Putin to recognize two Russian-controlled breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.
The measure is a formal appeal to Putin to recognize the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, in an area of southeastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, where Russian-backed separatists forces have been battling the Ukrainian army since 2014.
Such recognition would open a path for Russia to formally annex the two regions as it did the Crimean Peninsula almost eight years ago. It's now up to Putin to decide whether to go through with it……
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The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said Kiev regards Moscow's recognition of the self-proclaimed republics of Donbass as Russia's withdrawal from the Minsk agreements.