Donetsk and Luhansk leaders ask Putin to recognise independence of republics

The head of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, and the head of the People's Republic of Luhansk, Leonid Pasechnik, appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed republics, RIA Novosti reports.

On February 15, deputies of the State Duma of Russia, during the process of preferential voting, decided to turn to Putin immediately with a request to recognise the People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. As many as 351 Russian MPs voted for the draft resolution on the immediate appeal to the head of state.

Vladimir Putin later noted that opportunities to implement the Minsk Accords in the Donbass were not exhausted yet. Putin set out a hope for a solution to the conflict at the current stage. At the same time, Putin called the current events in the region an act of genocide.