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Kyiv residents on Monday evening said that eastern breakaway regions were part of Ukraine despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's formal recognition of two territories as independent. READ MORE: str.sg/wmmr
Russian state television on Monday showed Putin, joined by Russia-backed separatist leaders, signing a decree recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions along with agreements on cooperation and friendship.
Sitting on a bench on Maidan square in Kyiv, 19-year-old student Mykyta watched the Russian president on a live stream on his phone.
"Diplomacy is over," Mykyta said, adding that the Russian move would bring an end to the Minsk process - a set of agreements designed to end a separatist war by Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.
Yuliya, a 19-year-old Russian-speaking waitress, said Putin's declaration was "total nonsense."
Putin's recognition of the rebel-held areas could pave the way for Moscow to send military forces into the regions and argue that it is intervening as an ally to protect them against Ukraine.
VIDEO: REUTERS
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