Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine seek Russia’s help to repel Ukrainian army: Kremlin

Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine have sought Russian President Vladimir Putin’s help in repelling aggression from the Ukrainian army, the Kremlin announced late Wednesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the leaders of Ukraine’s breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk wrote a letter to Putin asking for assistance.

Noting that the letter pointed to “civilian casualties in the Donbas region,” Peskov said the respective administrations asked the Russian president for help in repelling the “aggression of the Ukrainian armed forces.”

Putin announced Monday that Moscow was recognizing the two eastern Ukrainian breakaway regions as “independent” states, followed quickly by an order to send Russian forces there to “maintain peace.”