Ukraine, Donbass. The Russian State Duma wants Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk states.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Tuesday approved an appeal to the United Nations, European Union institutions, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO and the governments and parliaments of the world not to recognize the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.

He also called on the international community to affirm the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the inviolability of its borders and not to recognize such a decision if taken by Russia.

The Verkhovna Rada has denounced Russia’s attempts to legalize the independence of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic.

Ukrainian parliamentarians also called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council on the escalation of the conflict on Ukraine’s borders and the immediate imposition of additional sanctions on Russia in order to avoid an escalation of the conflict.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday that Moscow’s recognition of the independence of separatist-held regions of Ukraine would mean “Russia’s withdrawal from the Minsk agreements with all the consequences”.

The State Duma adopted by a majority vote a resolution demanding that the draft recognition of the independence of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic, submitted by the Communist Party of the faction of the Russian Federation, will be immediately referred to the head of state.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that the decision “will be signed immediately and addressed to the head of state.” Volodin wrote in the Telegram messenger that Putin will be asked to recognize both regions as “independent, sovereign and independent states.”

“Kiev does not respect the Minsk agreements. Our compatriots and compatriots who live in Donbass need help and support,” added the State Duma speaker.

In his opinion, the recognition of these two regions “will create the conditions to ensure the security of the residents of the two republics from external threats, as well as to promote international peace and regional stability in line with the objectives and principles of the United Nations. The two countries will initiate the process of international recognition of both countries.”

In the spring of 2014, part of the eastern lands of Ukraine in the Donetsk and Luhansk states became a land of bloody battles that began after the emergence of the so-called Russian-backed separatists and green men.

Using equipment supplied by Moscow and trained military personnel, Russia attacked Ukraine. Shortly after the start of the war in Donbass, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and the so-called Lugansk People’s Republic declared independence from Ukraine.

To this day, no democratic state or international organization has recognized self-proclaimed republics.

Unlike Ukraine’s Crimea, which Russia arbitrarily annexed in March 2014 and in violation of international treaties, the breakaway republics of eastern Ukraine have not been assimilated or recognized as independent.

As the Reuters news agency explained, commenting on Tuesday’s vote in the State Duma to recognize the independence of the so-called republics, it would in fact destroy the basis for the work of the Minsk Accords, on which the ceasefire in the region has been based for years. Russia has pledged to comply with it for years.