The Russian parliament’s motion calls for President Vladimir Putin to formally recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, both of which declared independence from Ukraine in 2014. No other country currently recognizes the republics as sovereign states.

The motion, initially proposed by the Communist parliamentary opposition, attracted support from across the Duma’s five parties, including from speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Moscow Times reported.

“Firefights are continuing, people are dying,” Volodin said on the Telegram messenger app in the run-up to the vote. “We must find a solution.”

The resolution is not binding, and will now be sent to Putin for feedback, the report added.

MA/PR