The Federation Council upper house of the Russian parliament has approved the law on granting the war veteran status to Donbass militiamen, said Russian senator Darya Lantratova who represents the Lugansk People’s Republic.
“The FC has unanimously approved the amendments to the law on veterans, to grant the status of war veteran to the militiamen who fought for Donbass since May 11, 2014,” Lantratova wrote on Telegram. “It’s an important move as it helps integrate the Donbass militiamen into the Russian society and make them equal in rights with war veterans.”
“Now that the LPR and DPR have become parts of Russia we cannot ignore those who have defended the Republics’ borders since the emergence of the people’s movement,” she said.
The war veteran status is also granted to the persons serving with an organization that contributes to achieving Russian army objectives, for example with a private military company, Lantratova said.
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President Vladimir Putin earlier promised the status of war veteran to all Donbass militiamen. The 1st reading of the law was approved on April 18.
The State Duma lower house of the Russian parliament passed the law on April 20.
The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014. The peace talks failed to reach tangible results due to Kiev’s position to settle the conflict by force.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation on February 24, 2022 to protect Donbass residents from Ukrainian aggression. Prior to that, LPR and DPR Heads Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin asked the Russian leader to provide military assistance.
The Lugansk People’s Republic acceded to Russia on September 30, 2022 following the unification referendum.*i*v
