Russia: Ukraine's breakaway regions DPR & LPR's embassies to come up in Moscow

Amid the relentless war in Eastern Europe, the embassies of Ukraine's breakaway regions Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) will soon be opened in Moscow. "We will try to do it in the near future, the sooner the better. We are engaged in concrete work and the process is expected to take place in a month or two," RIA Novosti reported citing diplomatic sources. Notably, Russia declared the independence of LPR and DPR in the month of February and since then continued its diplomatic relations with these two regions. 

Last week, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister stated that Moscow is continuing its efforts to open embassies in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. "I will not give you the exact timing for opening the embassies, but work is being done, and corresponding agreements are being made," Yevgeny Ivanov was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency. Earlier this month, DPR's Foreign Minister Natalia Nikonorova said that the country has already sent the request to the Kremlin and has chosen a candidate for ambassador.

Ukraine must stop fighting in DPR & LPR in order to stop war: Russian lawmaker

Meanwhile, a senior Russian lawmaker has urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to withdraw from Donbass, recognise Crimea's sovereignty, as well as give up aspirations to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Vyacheslav Volodin, the Speaker of the Kremlin's State Duma (lower house), declared that if Ukraine wants the war to end, it must stop fighting in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In 2014, Moscow annexed nearly 3/4 of the Donbass region and established proxy leaders. As the war between Russia and Ukraine enters its 62nd day, military experts believe that the Kremlin is considering occupying all of the regions.

Ukrainian troops 930 settlements from Russian occupiers: Zelenskyy

On April 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Ukraine Armed Forces have liberated at least 930 settlements from Russian occupiers. In his usual late-night address, Zelenskyy also added that "it is only a matter of time" before Ukrainians liberate all their territories. According to a survey conducted by Ukraine Pravda, 93% of Ukrainians believe that Kyiv will defeat Russian Federation in the ongoing war. However, most of them expect that the war is going to continue for a long time. 

Image: AP