The part of Donetsk and Lugansk regions is an occupied territories now

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine at a meeting on Tuesday adopted a resolution recognizing some areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions as occupied.

A total of 280 lawmakers voted for this decision.

Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Hroisman said that this resolution recognizes separate territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions as temporarily occupied.

In accordance with the law on special local self-government procedures in some areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, a special procedure for local self-government is to be introduced in these areas until all illegal armed groups, their military hardware, and foreign mercenaries are removed from these territories and full Ukrainian government control over the state border is restored, he said.

The resolution will take effect the next day after its publication.

Before the voting, Hroisman had suggested that amendments proposed by Oleh Liashko, the leader of the Radical Party, be made to the draft resolution. The speaker did not air the exact wording proposed by Liashko.

Liashko himself said speaking at the Rada that he had proposed that the amended wording should talk about the withdrawal of "illegal armed units, Russian armed units, the surrender of weapons, and the blocking of the border."

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