MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law recognizing participants in a special military operation in Ukraine as combat veterans. The document is published on the official website of legal information.

On Wednesday, the law was unanimously adopted by the State Duma and approved by the Federation Council.

It was reported earlier that participants in the special operation will have access to the social protection system used by veterans of Afghanistan, Syria, and other hot spots. These include, for example, additional payments from the state, tax benefits, medical care, and so on.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.