Ukraine: Russia is aggressor, Donetsk and Luhansk are terrorist groups

Ukraine has officially recognized Russia an "aggressor state." The People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk were declared "terrorist organizations." Following these decisions, Ukraine has urged the international community to act similarly.

On January 27th, the Ukrainian Parliament, Verkhovna Rada, approved the declaration recognizing Russia an "aggressor state" and encouraged international organizations to strengthen pressure on the Russian Federation. Ukraine also asked the international community to recognized the two breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk "terrorist organizations".

The declaration received the support from 271 deputies out of 289.

According to the text of the appeal from the Verkhovna Rada to the international community, Ukraine asks Western countries "to recognize Russia as an aggressor country, which constantly blocks UN decisions and jeopardizes security in the whole world."

In addition, the Ukrainian parliament proposed to introduce new sectoral sanctions against Russia to thus "force the Russian leadership to fulfill all terms of the Minsk agreements, return the Crimea, free Nadezhda Savchenko, provide Ukraine with financial and humanitarian assistance and to recognize the fact of the occupation of Ukraine."