MOSCOW, Feb.21, (ST)-Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Monday decrees on recognition of sovereignty of Donetsk and Lugansk.
The situation in Donbass has worsened again to acquire a critical character, President Putin said in a televised address to the nation.
“The situation in Donbass is critical again,” he said.
“I would like to stress it once again that Ukraine is not just a neighbor for us. It is inseparable part of our own history, culture, spiritual space. They are our friends, our kin. They are not only our colleagues, friends, former fellow workers, they are our relatives and people linked by blood, family bonds with us,” he added.
Earlier in the day, President Putin has informed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron that he plans to sign a decree recognizing the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) in the near future, the Kremlin press service said after Putin’s telephone conversations with them.
The Russian president informed the German and French leaders about the results of today’s meeting of the Russian Security Council that focused on the current situation around Donbass in the context of the Russian lower parliament house’s resolution on the recognition of the Donbass republics.
Basma Qaddour