The Kremlin said Feb. 23 that the heads of two east Ukraine rebel republics, which were recognised by Moscow as independent on Feb. 21, have asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for “help” to “repel aggression” from the Ukrainian army.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the separatist republics “ask the president of Russia for help in repelling the aggression of the armed forces in Ukraine.”
The statement was carried by Russian state news agencies.
Peskov said Putin had received a letter from the heads of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics.
He said the heads of the republics had asked for Putin’s help “on the basis” of friendship treaties they signed with Moscow this week.
The friendship agreements Putin signed with the rebels opened the door to the presence of the Russian army on their territory.
Much of the territory of the Luhansk and Donetsk Regions is under Ukrainian government control, but there are fears that this could be the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
