Vladimir Putin recognized the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic, formed in 2014 in the territories of the Ukrainian Donbas controlled by pro-Russian separatists. The President of the Russian Federation stated this in an emergency television address to the Russian people. The decision to recognize the Donetsk and Lugansk republics was made following a meeting of the Russian Security Council, whose participants expressed their support for the corresponding initiative of the State Duma.

The recognition of the separatist regions of Ukraine as independent states caused widespread outrage in the West, where Russia's move was called a violation of international law and the Minsk agreements.