The leaders of Ukraine’s two self-declared breakaway republics have appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, requesting that Moscow recognize the separatist regions as independent states.
Speaking in an address on Monday, the head of the self-declared Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), Leonid Pasechnik, appealed to Putin, insisting that Moscow’s affirmation of their sovereignty will help avoid mass deaths of local residents, of which 300,000 are said to be ethnic Russians.
Pasechnik said that “I ask you to recognize the sovereignty and independence of the Lugansk People’s Republic. I also ask you to consider the possibility of concluding a friendship and cooperation agreement between the LPR and the Russian Federation, including cooperation in defense,” he said Monday on the Russia-24 television channel.
At the same time, in a simultaneous appeal, the leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin similarly called on the Russian president to recognize his region’s independence. Both declared their autonomy from Kiev in the wake of the 2014 Maidan, which saw Ukraine’s government toppled in the wake of violent unrest.
According to Pushilin, the Russian leader’s “political decisions, such as the recognition of documents issued to residents of our republics and the possibility to become Russian citizens, are invaluable for us.”
“On behalf of all the people of the Donetsk People’s Republic we ask you to recognize the Donetsk People’s Republic as an independent, democratic, legal, social state,” he went on.
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