Xinhua News Agency, Moscow, February 21 (Reporter Yellow River) Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order on the evening of the 21st to recognize the "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic" in eastern Ukraine.
According to the news released by the Russian President's website, members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation held a meeting on the 21st on the situation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Putin then delivered a national televised speech, talking about the relations between Russia and Ukraine, the situation in eastern Ukraine, Russia's security and other issues.
Subsequently, Putin signed the order on the recognition of the "Donetsk People's Republic" and the "Luhansk People's Republic", as well as the treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between Russia and the two "republics" respectively.
Earlier in the day, Putin spoke by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Scholz, informing him that he was about to sign an order on the recognition of the "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic".
Macron and Scholz expressed disappointment at the development, while expressing their willingness to keep in touch on relevant issues.
In April 2014, a large-scale armed conflict between Ukrainian government forces and local civilian armed forces broke out in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Civilian armed forces subsequently announced the establishment of the "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic".
Through the mediation of the international community, the two parties to the conflict reached a ceasefire agreement in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, in September 2014 and February 2015 respectively. Since then, large-scale armed conflicts have been brought under control, but small-scale exchanges of fire have occurred from time to time.
On the 18th of this month, the eastern Ukrainian civilian armed forces announced that they would evacuate local residents to Russia on a large scale from now on due to the danger of Ukraine launching a military operation.
The government of the southern Russian state of Rostov announced on the 19th that it has entered a state of emergency from today due to the continuous increase in the number of refugees from the eastern part of Ukraine.