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Chairwoman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko said on Tuesday that the Council received a request from Russian President Vladimir Putin about deploying the Russian army outside the country, and the Council has approved deploying the Russian army in Donbass.

Matviyenko confirmed that the approval was unanimous. 

In parallel, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that tension in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) is escalating, noting that the residents of both regions must be protected.

In the same context, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Nikolay Pankov, alerted during a session of the Federation Council that the situation in the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk is escalating, saying that innocent victims are increasing, as 100,000 people in Donbass were obliged to leave their homes only in the recent days, including 29,865 children.

Pankov said that in accordance with the treaty of friendship and cooperation with the two republics, "Russia will act for the protection of the sovereignty of other states and in order to prevent acts of aggression."

Putin recognizes Lugansk, Donetsk People's republics

This comes after Moscow's latest statements of recognizing the independence of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

In a speech, Putin addressed Russia and announced, "I sign the decree to recognize Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics."

President Putin and Donetsk leader Pushilin signed a bilateral friendship and cooperation agreements between the two parties, and he did so with Lugansk leader Pasechnik.