MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. Russia hopes that during the special operation in Ukraine, one of its main tasks to rescue the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) and restore their statehood will be fulfilled, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a televised interview with Belarus-24 channel on Saturday.

"We state that the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics has been recognized by Russia. We recognized their independence, we recognized them as independent states. The operation was initiated at the request of these two republics. One of the main objectives of the operation is to rescue these republics and restore their statehood within the borders of 2014, within the borders that are enshrined in the constitution of both the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics," Peskov noted.

"We hope that all these tasks of the special military operation will be fulfilled," he concluded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 launched a special operation in Ukraine in response to a request for help from the leaders of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories. Its sole aim, Putin emphasized, is to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.