The Kremlin said on Wednesday it had received an official request for military assistance from separatist leaders in Donetsk and Lugansk, two territories in eastern Ukraine that Russia recognized as independent republics earlier this week.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said separatists in Donbass had requested assistance to “repel aggression by the Ukrainian armed forces, to avoid civilian casualties and a humanitarian catastrophe” in the region.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed a decree to send “peacekeeping” forces to eastern Ukraine and received parliamentary authorization to send troops, but has not yet confirmed the deployment of any troops.
Ukraine declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, mobilized reservists and instructed Ukrainians in Russia to leave the country.
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