The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has overwhelmingly voted in favour of a motion that says that the Russian-backed regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine should not be recognized as independent states.
The vote came swiftly after Russia’s parliament urged the Russian President to formally recognize the breakaway “republics” in the Donbas region of southeastern Ukraine.
Putin’s response to the Duma vote will likely indicate whether or not there will be an escalation of the conflict in Donbas. Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko told the BBC on Tuesday that if Putin ratified the Duma resolution, peace talks between the countries would come to a sudden end.
