MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. Kiev officials did not try to contact Moscow through the Foreign Ministry after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told reporters on Tuesday.

"I don’t have this kind of information, no one contacted us at the Foreign Ministry," he said when asked by TASS if Kiev had tried to contact Moscow following the recognition announcement.

Tensions escalated along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine on the morning of February 17. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics reported the heaviest shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in months. On February 18, the heads of the LPR and DPR, Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin, announced the evacuation of the republics’ residents to Russia, citing the mounting threat of hostilities. General mobilization was ordered in the Donbass republics on February 19.

On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. The treaties on friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance were signed with their leaders.