The lower house of the Russian Parliament on Tuesday voted in favour of sending a resolution on the recognition of the self-proclaimed Donbass republics to President Vladimir Putin.
"Lawmakers believe that the recognition of DPR and LPR will create the grounds for ensuring security guarantees and protecting the population of the republics from external threats, as well as strengthening international peace and regional stability in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and will initiate the process of international recognition of both states", Volodin said on Telegram.
Volodin also stressed that Kiev disregards the Minsk agreements, saying that Russians living in Donbass require help and support.
Some 351 MPs in the Duma backed the draft, 16 voted "no", and one abstained.
The resolution, supported by Russian lawmakers, comes amid an escalation of tensions around Ukraine since Washington and London have been repeatedly claiming over the past few weeks that Russia is planning to "invade" its neighbour soon. Moscow blasted those accusations as fake, noting they are hyped up while Ukraine is planning a provocation in Donbass.
DPR and LPR proclaimed their independence back in 2014 after a violent coup d'etat occurred in Kiev. In response, Ukrainian authorities launched a military invasion to try to crush the republics. The war has claimed the lives of at least 31,000 people, while over 2.5 million civilians were either internally or externally displaced.
Hundreds of thousands of them took refuge in Russia and were granted citizenship. Last month, Moscow warned that it would not tolerate any provocations by Kiev in Donbass, or any attacks against Russian citizens living there.