The number of LPR residents will grow by nearly half a million people after all its territory is liberated, the LPR Head Leonid Pasechnik said.
"Before the active military action began, our population was approximately 1.4 million people. According to our estimates, 400-500 thousand people will join us (from) the territories that have been liberated," he said.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Donbass to protect residents of the region from Ukrainian aggression and called on Ukrainian troops to leave the combat zone. Earlier, the Heads of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin, requested Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide military assistance.
The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014. The members of the Contact Group have announced ceasefire more than 20 times since the autumn of 2014. Kiev forces regularly violated the truce opening fire with large caliber artillery, mortars and tank guns which were to have been withdrawn from the contact line under the accords. *t
