18:57,

YEREVAN, 21 FEBRUARY, ARMENPERESS. Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko has submitted to the parliament a draft decision to suspend diplomatic relations with Russia, ARMENPRESS reports, Ria Novosti informs.

The relevant draft resolution was registered on the website of the Verkhovna Rada on February 22.

"Ukraine must end its diplomatic relations with Russia. Today I submitted an urgent resolution to the Verkhovna Rada. Year after year, the Russian Federation only intensifies its aggression against Ukraine. Putin first occupied Crimea, then started a war in the Donbass. And now he continues to apply pressure. He recognized his puppets, the so-called Donetsk and Lugansk, as independent. By yesterday’s statement Putin himself cut off diplomatic relations with us," Honcharenko wrote in the Telegram. He offered to urgently discuss this decision.

Russia recognized the independence of two self-proclaimed republics – Donetsk and Lugansk on February 21.